Stitched with Love

More than 2 years ago the thoughts of how to honor the high-school graduation of Honorable Son #1 began to stir in my mind. At that time the idea of piecing together a quilt for him came to life. I knew that if that was the direction my gift would take, I needed to begin that process sooner rather than later. But many questions had to be answered;

• What quilt pattern would be the right design?
• What colors, patterns?
• When would the I find time to accomplish another large project?

Those questions weighed heavy on my mind for many weeks until I finally had to put the idea aside and began to consider other ideas…but what?

The opportunity to give a gift is something that I take very seriously. Often, many hours of mental power and time are spent in contemplation over the “perfect” gift. And, most often, a gift given with my name printed in the “from” space on the tag needs to be handmade in some way. I have this personality trait >aka-flaw/ disorder< that consumes me until I conjure up the “perfect, personal, handmade gift,” lots of prayer, time and thought are involved. The process while rewarding can be exhausting too.

So, when 2017 rolled around and I still hadn’t decided on a graduation gift, the idea of giving a handmade gift seemed unattainable. But during the month of January(my month of rest after all that gift giving), the idea of a quilt stirred once more.

 

This time a pattern idea came to life, and within a week of rekindling this idea I was able to draw out the pattern design and had begun to gather the fabric. Now I just needed the window of time to start the stitching.

That window of time came during my annual scrapbook vacation with friends. This year instead of working on the scrap pages I took along, the entire 3+ days was used to piece together Honorable Son #1’s graduation quilt.

My pattern design was made up of 2″, 4″, 6″, and 8″ squares, beginning in one corner with white 2″ squares, leading into the addition of shades of blue, then other colors and themes that have some relevance to #1 Son’s childhood and adolescence, finally reaching the other end of the quilt with 8″ squares representing things/colors of his present person.

Honorable Son #1’s quilt in progress

The entire 3 days of sewing was a roller coaster of emotion with the pouring out of my heart and a trip down memory lane, traveling a road of not only his development, but also the journey I experienced as his mother.

Finished quilt

After finishing the piecing of the top, I decided to have someone else do the quilting. I would have loved to hand quilt this project, but wanted Honorable Son #1 to have this quilt before he needed a cane…:-)

Through a little Google searching and a couple phone calls, I was led to a women that did quilting with a long-arm machine for hire and, as a bonus, she lived in my area.  Pam Mildren Quilting

Pam did a great job, helping me to chose a quilting pattern, offering many thread color options, and finishing my quilt within 2 weeks of dropping it off.

“Where’s the ladybug?” Ladybugs from a favorite toddler book.

 

Thomas the Train and Dinosaurs,

two very important things in #1 Son’s pre-school/elementary years

Orange and Green represent the many Allis Chalmers and John Deere Tractors that filled many hours of play

And now the color grey for that beloved first car-Subaru WRX

The joy of a made bed!(obviously, just a Mom thing!)

This quilt wouldn’t win any awards among the wide array of intricate pattern designs or artful color variations that fill the quilt world. No, this quilt’s beauty lies in the eyes, and heart, of a mother; this mother on a journey stitched with love.

All my love, Mom.