The Gift of Quilts

Another one of my quilts -- this one was from the book "Quilts from The Quiltmaker's Gift". I made it in mid-2004 for my cousin Julia. She picked the pattern and the colors and left the fabric choices to me. I don't usually like two-fabric quilts, but I really liked how this one came out. I did, however, get tired of making the same block over and over and over again. My friend Janet did a wonderful machine-quilting job on it. (This was in my pre-HQ16 days).

This quilt gave me a wonderful gift ...Julia's father (an uncle that I was very close to) was diagnosed with very aggressive stomach cancer around Thanksgiving of 2003 and passed away 6 weeks later. It was a great shock to the whole family...I still think of him often. I dove right into making the quilt shortly after my uncle's death because I knew that Julia needed it and because I needed it. The process of making the quilt was good for my healing and I like to think that the finished quilt itself was good for Julia's healing.

If you've never read "The Quiltmaker's Gift" you must. Lovely story and exquisite illustrations. All babies who get a quilt from me also get a copy of the book. Second babies get a quilt and a copy of "The Quiltmaker's Journey".