Memories in the Words

Mary with her quilt at her lake house in Idaho.

Fall is settling in on us here in New England.  Last Friday was my night for quilting with the once a month quilting girls.  They have been after me to get back to blogging and honestly I've just been busy with life.  But with the chill in the air I'm happy to be inside and ready to get back to writing.

I'm picking up with the "Quilts for The Girls" series I started so very long ago.  In fact all the girls have received their quilts except one.  So here's the story of Mary's quilt.

When we were giggly high school girls we all knew that Mary would be a writer. We had lots of ideas of how we wanted things to be when we grew up.  Writing a book about our little band of friends is something The Girls have always talked about doing.  Mary was picked to be the author because she was so good at writing.  I have always been in awe of anyone who could write ANYTHING.  

Mary wrote poetry in high school while I was barely able to write complete sentences for goodness sake! Which is kind of funny when you consider that I'm the one writing a blog :o)  But that's OK, no one is expecting poetry from me right?!

Mary and I became best friends almost from the first day we met.  I had just moved back to the small town in NH where my parents had grown up and my siblings and I had been born.  I didn't know a soul when I ventured out to the park across the street from our new house that first day.  I don't remember the particulars of that first meeting just that I was delighted to find some kids to play with who lived on the next street over!  We were in elementary school and the park quickly became our hang out.  I met the rest of The Girls through Mary because they all went to a different school than me.

Mary on the beach in Maine

It's difficult to write a synopsis of our long and enduring friendship because there's soooo much to tell - or not!!!  All of which really needs to go into that book we still want to write (or not!)  ;o)   For now I'll just say that without Mary I'd probably have gotten into more a lot more trouble, strayed away from my faith, and never gone to college or dreamed of bigger things in my life.  In short she was an inspiration and a role model to me from a very early age and remains close to my heart today even with all the miles between us.

The Girls - At my sister's wedding 1976

So how do you make a quilt that reflects so many years of shared memories?  Well this one started with words. You see, Mary didn't grow up to be a writer of novels but she did get a degree in communications.  I took that as my jumping off point and searched for fabrics that had words in them.  Finding them was more difficult than I thought it would be which was one of the reasons her quilt is almost the last one.  As I bought each piece I realized that the words were a great representation of all the phases of our lives.  

My original idea for a pattern was the log cabin block but then I remembered that Mary had told me when I was making a quilt for her daughter that log cabin is one pattern she really doesn't like.  But the combination of words and the long, narrow strips or "logs" just seemed like the right fit. Still I just couldn't bring myself to make a quilt with a pattern I knew she didn't like!  Besides, I wanted an upbeat, modern quilt to match Mary's personality.  

I searched the local quilt shops, went to quilt shows, and scoured the internet until I came across "I'm Blushing", by Natalia Bonner for Moda.  It's a really pretty and fun pattern, with key-hole blocks that are simple to construct.  It also had the long strips that would show off the words in the fabrics I'd chosen.  The pattern calls for pre-cut 2 1/2" strips but since I had already purchased all these special fabrics I made my own strips.

I put the strips on my design wall do to some tryouts.  I was trying to get the combination of words and colors right.  I was also paying closer attention to the words to see if they brought back any specific memories.  

The combo below didn't make the cut but I loved the "Fox In Sox" in the Dr. Suess print and the words made with scrabble letters. 

Playing scrabble with Mary's Auntie Anne was so much fun and 
I'm still hooked, playing scrabble on my Kindle nearly every day.

Here's some close ups of blocks that made it into the quilt and some of the memories that inspired them.  

Friends from grade school in a small New England town to college in the big city.

This one made me think of the countless hours we spent talking every day.
The seeds reminded me of one of Mary's jobs working for a seed company!

From Puberty to Menopause!  Need I say more?

Every girl loves to Exercise Accessorize!

Along with the rectangular blocks there are also some square key-hole blocks.  This one has a bike and reminded me of our many rides up to the dam.

Mary's 10 speed bike was named "Pegasus"

The cats, Alice and Guppy, kept a close eye on the progress.  Many mornings I got up to find items removed from the design wall and crumpled on the floor around the foot stool I use to reach the top of the wall.

Apparently Alice didn't like the other red one so she took it off the
design wall and threw it on the floor (next to the stool).

Since I have a full time job I usually sew in the evenings.  When I'm on a roll I can be up late into the night.  Poor Guppy spent many long hours, often past his bedtime, supervising the sewing.

Guppy has a bath while I pieced the blocks.

Alice (on the left) decided to get in on the action too, checking up on me to see if I was ready to stop for the night!  She also made sure my hand stitching on the binding was properly done.

Don't you just LOVE that backing fabric?  It's part of the "Reunion" collection by Moda.

Here are some pictures of the finished quilt in the sunshine.  

The beautiful long-arm quilting was done by Lori Wurtzler.  

Each of the large circle flowers was quilted to look like it had petals.

The leaves were done with a bit of extra batting underneath to make them pop off the quilt.

Mary's label reads "A faithful friend is the medicine of life."

It was 2006 when I began this journey of making Quilts for The Girls.  I finally finished and delivered six quilts by June 2012.  Along the way I spent many enjoyable months planning, collecting just the right fabrics, and choosing just the right pattern for each of my dear friends.  There were also countless hours of reminiscing mixed in with the fun of cutting and sewing and creating these quilts. I have just one left and I can't wait to get started on it.

It was such a joy delivering the a finished quilts to each of my friends.  This delivery took me all the way to Mary's lake house in Idaho!  A fun weekend of catching up (blah, blah, blah) and walking by the Lake just like all those times we walked to school in the mornings, or to the damn on a summer afternoon, or downtown on a Friday night just for something to do. 

Oh yeah, and the deal for me in all of this, besides the quilting fun, was these were meant to be "birthday" quilts so every time one of The Girls has a birthday they're supposed to look at their quilt and forgive me for not sending a card!  I'm a terrible correspondent . . . 

Here's a big hug ( ) to all my Girls, and a very Happy Birthday to each of you!  I can't wait for our next adventure so we can continue to add "chapters" to that book we're going to write - or not! ;0)

The Girls - Celebrating in Boston July 2013

Kim's Quilt

If you've been following along at all you know I've been on this quest to create a quilt for each of "The Girls".  As I thought about creating these quilts I've spent time thinking about what each of my friends means to me and the influence they've had on my life.  Our friendship of over 40 years has help shape my views and reinforce my values.  Kim is one of these wonderful friends!

Kim is a runner.  That's her in the picture below wearing the green shirt at the Maine Corp marathon in WDC.  She and her husband trained long and hard to be in that race and both finished!  Now I have no idea what it's like to train for or run in a marathon but it's one of the many things admire about Kim.

It sounds like such a final declaration to say she's a runner because the truth is Kim is much more than a runner.  Yes, she is an athlete but she is also a wife, a mom, a sister, an aunt, a grandmother, and a dear friend.  On my visits to our home town, where she still lives, I'd see her running the route of hills and valleys that lead past her mom's place near where my sister lives.  I typically wave but don't stop for fear of breaking her concentration.  I never asked her about stopping during a run but I figure if it was me running (NOT!) it would take me every bit of concentration and determination to be running on such a rugged course that I wouldn't dare to stop!

I am always in awe of anyone with such physical strength and mental determination.  I have never been much of an outdoor gal, even in my youth.  I was always wanting to sit around reading a book.  It was my friends (and my mother) who encouraged me to join in the biking, swimming, and skiing that kept us busy summer and winter.  I'm so glad they did!  I enjoyed it mostly because I was with them certainly not because of my grace or ability.

When Kim invited The Girls for an overnight stay it was the perfect time to deliver her quilt.  Getting all of us together in one place can be a challenge but we try to do it once or twice a year.  And there's usually one or two who just can't make it.  In this case it was Audrey and Mary so Kim made these fun "big head" cut outs to make sure they were included.  What a hoot!  It seemed, as always, that we had just seen each other yesterday when in fact we hadn't seen each other in months!  Catching up is easy because we do keep in touch with all the new fangled technology and occasionally a phone call or two.

During the summer before this get together I had been talking to Kim at a party.  She was telling me about the next big running challenge she was training for and I got that old feeling of envy.   Of how I wish I was more physically active and had the grace and beauty that comes from being tall, slim, and healthy.  Let's face it, I'm never going to be tall but I'd love to be slim and healthy!  And it's not envy in a bad way, it's more like inspiration, in a way that makes me want to do more.  To be better at going to the gym, at sticking with healthy eating, at getting outside to enjoy the sun and the fresh air.  While I love being inside working on my quilting there are days when I still feel like that 17 year old girl who'd just love to spend a day playing on the slopes with her friends! 

 

When I first began collecting novelty fabrics for Kim's quilt I chose a print with bras (it's an inside joke ;o) )and another one with woman's running shoes.  I was envisioning the vibrant, primary colors like lemon yellow, lime green, bright orange, red and blue.  I wanted to do something that would show the energy and fun of running.  But as I said earlier, Kim is so much more than a runner so I went in an entirely different direction.

 

I asked Kim what colors she likes and it was no surprise that she talked about the colors she has in her home.  The creams, browns, and beiges with touches of cranberry red and pine green, that make her home so warm and welcoming.  So instead of the cute novelty fabric of running shoes I decided to go with the warmth and comfort of fall colors to blend in with the colors she already has at home.  I knew I'd found the prefect solution when I saw these Timeless Treasures fabrics called "Leaves of Green".

I had so much fun making the disappearing 9 patch block for Betty's quilt I decided to use it again for Kim's.  I just love the way you start out with these big blocks sewn together to get a huge 9 patch.

Then you cut the 9 patch up to produce four smaller blocks seen below.  The one thing you need to consider when making this block is do you want any of the directional fabrics to stay in an upright position?  In this case, I didn't mind if the leaves were tipped and turned but I wanted all the birds to be sitting on the branches right side up not dangling down like bats. :-)  But that's just me, you may not care and I'm sure they would have been just a pretty, even upside down or sideways.

Then when you rotate the smaller blocks and sew them back together you end up with a totally different look.  And this is just one of many options for turning the small blocks - again for me it was all about keeping the birds upright.

The overall effect of the disappearing 9 patch is a bit scrappy.  Just enough for me to tolerate!  And since I have a hard time mixing up different patterns and colors in the same quilt this type of block gives me the effect I'm looking for without the stress of losing control LOL!  Maybe I'm a bit OCD.  Here's the finished quilt.

I didn't realize it until after taking this picture but there's a secondary pattern.  Can you see it?  It looks like large pin wheels and gives it a nice energy to the peaceful colors. 

For quilting I had Lorri do a large swirl that reminded me of blowing winds in the fall.
 

In the corners and borders there's an acorn and oak leaf motif.

As always for me one of the most fun parts of making a quilt for a gift is to watch the person opening it.  Kim was totally surprised!  Sorry for that bad picture Kim but I couldn't get one without the reflections beaming back from your running jacket!  Love, love, love the backing fabric by the way! 

And as you all know I hate a "honking big white label" on the backs of my quilts so I try to incorporate something more interesting.  In this case I used one of the smaller blocks from cutting up the larger 9 patch.  Trying to herd the cats and get everyone in the same place at once is usually a challenge so the inscription "Friends are always together in spirit" is very appropriate. And particularly appropriate for Kim as she's one of the hardest to catch up with. 

Now all of the girls, including Kim, knew they were getting quilts but they had no idea what to expect or when it would arrive.  I was just going to work on them and they'd get them when the got them.  (I didn't need the stress of 6 quilt deadlines in my life!)  In this case, I finished the quilt in December 2011 just before Kim's birthday but didn't get it delivered until February 2013.  Oh yeah, and I'm just finishing writing about this one in 2014 . . . I know, I know but don't judge me!

While we were stating at Kim's that night nearly a year ago it snowed as we slept.  In the morning we woke up to over a foot of new snow.  The more hearty of the bunch went for an early morning walk.  I would have loved to have joined them but I'm not crazy, I know my limits.  When they returned we started digging out and preparing to head home.  So I got that chance to spend some time outdoors with my friends!  LOL!  Mostly though, the guys did the shoveling and snow blowing, while the girls cleared off the cars.

And the get together at Kim's was just like all the other times The Girls get together; lots of food, fun, "remember when", and new memories.  So when's the next get together for The Girls?  Who knows, but I'm sure it will be a blast!