I was cleaning our downstairs yesterday, getting ready for our house guests for tomorrow. I don’t know what made me think of it, but I began thinking about the beautiful quilt Mom had made. I have to tell you the story about this!
Mom always loved to sew, and I know she wanted me to learn to love it as well. I’m sad to say that really never happened. Mom was so talented on her sewing machine! Probaby the last ten to fifteen years of her life she began to have the desire to make a quilt. She had made and quilted for me a beautiful red, green and white Christmas tree skirt for my birthday one year, which I cherish and enjoy each Christmastime! She also made and quilted for me a Christmas table runner one year that is similar in color to the tree skirt. I love them both! She quilted for me a couple of wall hangings for our home…one for Christmas, and the other for all year. We display them downstairs in our family room.
Her pieces mean so very much to me, because I know love was poured out into each hand stitch. I know because she pinned a note to the tree skirt when she gave it to me that said, “Happy Birthday Julie! Each stitch is filled with lots of love! Love, Mom”
After Mom’s passing, my brothers and I began the daunting task of cleaning out her home and going through Mom’s and Dad’s things. We would all try to set an evening each week or every other week to come in together and go through things. It became a very healing time for us, and it became something I looked forward to…just me and my brothers sifting through pieces of our lives and our parents’ lives. We shared many memories that were attached to the things we found, and we also created some new memories as we were together each time. I sure miss those evenings now!
Well one of the evenings we were there, we were working in Pat’s old bedroom which contained all sorts of different things. We began going through the closet. In there we found an old rather large pillow case, and inside of it was like a big blanket rolled up. We took it out and couldn’t believe what we saw! We saw this…
Mom had finished her quilt! I can remember so many thoughts ran through my mind at that very moment…”Did Mom tell me she finished her quilt?” “Did she ever show me this?” “Did she try to tell me or show me sometime and could I have been too busy?” I can see the look on my brothers’ faces even now, and I’m sure mine was similar to theirs. None of us had any clue she had finished her quilt! If she ever told me or showed me, I must have blocked it out! I can remember tears filling my eyes. I remembered all the times Mom and I would go to fabric stores and she would purchase different kinds brown and cream colored yards of fabric. She would show me different patterns of quilt squares she liked. She would be working on her quilt many times when we would stop in to see her. I just never knew how far she was on it…I never knew she finished it!
We then saw a tag on the quilt which brought more tears…
My brothers said I should have Mom’s quilt that evening, so it came home with me. So, yesterday I grabbed the tote out of the storage room that the quilt was in and took it out. Why would I leave such a beautiful piece of Mom’s work and love in a storage tote? She had to have been so proud of her work! Was she hiding it in hopes of making each of us one to surprise us with some day? I wish I could ask her!
I took the quilt upstairs and laid it over the couch…it’s huge! It would easily fit on our king bed! Bill has suggested I purchase a quilt rack of some sort and display it instead of using it. He’s probably right…I would not like it if something happened to it or something got spilled on it, etc. Today I still have it over the back of the couch…I might leave it there for a few days to really enjoy it, then I’ll find the perfect place to display it.
Mom’s love was in every stitch, and there’s a whole lot of stitches in her quilt! Her quilt reminds me of her love, her work ethic and her perseverance. She was dedicated to see her project through…even though it took her five years. I love my mom! I want to grow up to be just like her! 🙂
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