Monday, August 6, 2012

PICK A BOOK - Bookworm Gardens Quilt

This blog is intended to be primarily a sewing blog, one that hopefully will encourage and inspire you to create!  No one is really interested in the daily perosnal ups and downs of my life....nor should you be!!!

Of course our personal lives don't stop at the studio door.  Every once in awhile a project is so personal that the decision whether or not to blog about it has to be made.

Our family lost our dear brother on Easter Sunday after a 9 month battle with cancer.  He was only 60 years old.  We lost my twin sister several years ago as well and tears still come regularly for all of us.

My brother spent many happy hours at Bookworm Gardens with his granddaughter Taylor.  It was there they spotted a funky playhouse which quickly became a project for him to build a similar one for a surprise birthday present for Taylor. 

Memorials to honor my brother were directed to this wonderful organization....so I too thought about how I might help.  Knowing most non-profits have little room in their budgets for 'art', I approached the directors to inquire whether they would be interested in accepting a quilt that I'd make for them.  One never knows what the word 'quilt' conjures up. Happily, they were knowledgeable and very excited at the prospect of having such a piece.

From time to time I have blogged about specific tasks/problems I encountered while creating this quilt over the last 4 months.  It was my intention to recap the entire process in one blog when the quilt was complete.  However, as I began formulating my thoughts today, I decided instead to simply show you the finished piece. The process was far more therapeutic than I'd ever imagined.

I will be presenting the piece to them personally in October...until then I will look at it daily with a warm heart for a very special person in my life.

Photos are clickable to enlarge.

Pick A Book  42" x 31.5"
Cotton fabrics, digitally altered and printed fabrics, hand & machine
appliqued, hand embroidered, embellished with hand dyed wood buttons 
& beads, machine and hand quilted.





1 comment:

The Idaho Beauty said...

Hugs, Mary. I totally understand the unexpected therapeutic nature of this sort of quilt. I'm glad it was that way for you (and no need to share those details with us). In a way, too bad you can't keep it as I have my "mourning" quilt - I don't keep it out year round but I do get it out around the anniversary of Allen's death and I find it very comforting to hold and enjoy. In your case, enjoy while you can and then even more enjoyment as you know it is going to a good cause, one your brother would heartily approve of. It is a delightful quilt.