Everyone seems to be putting pictures of flags or patriotic quilts up on their blogs and Facebook pages so I figured I should do the same. This is my nephew, Doug, who has recently been shipped back overseas. But this picture was taken back in 2003 - oh the mind is fuzzy, he was either about ready to be deployed or just getting back from Iraq. Anyway, I was understandably worried about him, and the quilt world was awash in patriotic quilt patterns and projects distributing quilts to our servicemen and women. It was time I make one for my nephew.
To speed things up, I used a pattern from a magazine, cut all the pieces and asked my guild sisters if they would help with the piecing. Of course, they helped. Once it was together and quilted, I had each of them sign their name along the border, and the label on the back included a picture of us all. I sent it along to my brother (said nephew's dad), suggesting that he and other family members spend a little time under it as I had, imbuing it with good family vibes, and signing their names along the border too.
Well, he took my suggestion in spades, spreading the circle of well-wishers to non-family members important to Doug. He took pictures of each person with the quilt wrapped around them plus pictures of Doug and his family when the quilt was delivered. Those pictures went into a little photo album for me, so unexpected and so treasured. Here's a full shot of the quilt. If you click on the picture, you may be able to spot some of the quilting down in the lower right section - stars around the border and diagonal curves through the body.
Be safe, all you service men and women out there. We wish you were all home.
2 comments:
I love the design of this quilt and I especially love all the heart and soul that it encompasses.
I really appreciate the simplicity of working with half square triangle units, which is primarily what this pattern is comprised of. You can get such graphic designs. I think what else appealed to me about this pattern was the abstract quality. Yes, flags, but not really. I used up a lot of off-white and red fabrics, but actually I was pretty surprised at how little "patriotic red" fabric I have. Much of it tends to be more orange-red.
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