Christmas Delight!
First of all, let me say that I am blessed with four wonderful children. In ascending order of age, is Kris, 21, mine by birth, Sean, 23 and Jo, 25, by choice when I married their Dad and the newest edition, Brad, 26 by marriage to Jo two years ago. Quilting is a gift of more than fabric and thread and supplies. For me, it is a gift of my time, my creativity and most of all, my love for the recipient. Last year I decided to surprise the kids with cuddle quilts. I started last February and made Brad’s first. Being the “fabricaholic” I am, I knew exactly where to start from my stash. The quilt uses several rows of flying geese and the quilting has lots of movement. Appropriate for Brad as he works toward his PhD in Genetics at USC. A quilt of movement with a direction. Next came Jo’s. I had purchased the nurse blocks in Chicago several years ago, knowing that someday I would make something for Jo with the fabric. Jo entered a Masters of Nursing program at Cal State, LA in 2007. After completing her first 4 quarters of study, she received her RN and passed her boards. A quilt using the nurse fabric was the perfect fit!. Her quilt like Brad’s uses the flying geese blocks blended with the nurse graphics. She too is constant in her direction toward completion of her Master’s degree in Nursing. Sean’s quilt was next. I’ve been saving pieces of black and white fabric for this quilt for years. I always knew his quilt would be black and white. But Sean has a quick wit and vast reservoir of creativity, so the quilt needed something to add a liveliness to it to match him, so a pop of aqua did the trick. Kris’s quilt was the last to start. He was still at home when the project started so was the only one of the kids that knew what was going on. He wanted “input” into his quilt so we collaborated on the design and the colors. This was as much of a blessing as it was a curse. The freedom of design and color I had enjoyed with the other quilts was now being tempered. Hmmmm, this was going to be harder. Kris is a wonderful blend of Science and Artistry. The central medallion pointing out in all directions captures his energy; many interests, many different directions, all coming from a central core.