My granddaughter, Victoria, receiving a quilt
Then by God’s grace we finished the Nabak translation project and I was asked by the major Bible College in the country to go there and teach. Two ladies, one from New Zealand and one from Australia, caught me up into quilting. They asked me what crafts I did and I said, “Oh, painting, cross stitch, macramé, a little of this, a little of that.”
“Have you ever quilted?” Lynn asked.
“No, never have,” I replied.
She immediately answered, “You will.”
She was right. I did. Her love for fabric and design were infectious. She wisely started me with a pot holder. She chose the colors and the design, let me borrow a sewing machine from the college and I was so proud of my work I never could use it as a pot holder. I hung it on the wall.
I graduated from pot holder to wall hanging with this coffee piece, then made the matching, small table runner.
Then I was on to a baby crib quilt with a nine patch and hour glass. I learned about quilting in the ditch. I didn’t know there were thousands of design possibilities ahead of me.
Finally I graduated to a queen-sized quilt. You quilters will recognize it as the log cabin design but with an appliquéd flower in the center instead of a red hearth square. When I had to leave Papua New Guinea I carried this unfinished quilt with me back to America. My friend, Dora Hibbard, stretched the quilt out on a frame in her living room and hand quilted it. I admire this quilt every time I walk into my bedroom.
Well then I tried a pattern with rounded blocks. That was a tough one to get it squared. My friend Lynne, from Texas, helped me sort out the right colors because I was ready to trash the whole project. My daughter,
Deet, cried when she opened her Christmas package that year and saw that the quilt was for her.
I learned how to appliqué from the world expert, Jane Townswick. She taught classes right here in our rural area. I made this beautiful flower wall hanging for my sister, Kathryn.
Then my grandson, Isaac, graduated from high school and he got a strata quilt with a guitar appliquéd on it. Then guess what? Isaac’s younger brother, Isaiah, graduated, so he “needed” a quilt. I love him, so I made him a log cabin design but in a broken star pattern.
This year another grandson, Bishop, graduates and I will wait and show you his quilt once he’s seen it. I want to surprise him. He chose the pattern from my collection of catalogs and magazines and I’m pleased with how it turned out in spite of unclear directions that came with the kit.
My present quilt project is highly secretive. Hopefully I can reveal it to you this summer. All I can tell you now is that it’s paper piecing and the stage I’m at right now is 220 flying geese. I’m up to 51 as of this morning.
Well, you can tell as I’ve rambled on, or was I bragging, that I got hooked into quilting. Once I figure out the design and it becomes assembly style, I find it’s a great time to pray. Many prayers have ascended to the Lord as the seams blend together. Prayer and quilts make a grand and artful design. Try it sometime.
I haven’t showed you everything I’ve ever done. But enough showing off is more than enough. I must get back to flying geese.
5 Comments
You never cease to amaze me Grace.
Beautiful quilts…you failed to mention that quilting requires not only creativity and patience and the ability to cut and sew straight, it also requires some mathematical knowledge…yours are really superb! As are you!
I enjoyed reading about your experience with quilting. It is such a joy to see your smiling face, and your finished projects. Always a pleasure to hear what you are up to. Ron and I will have to make a trip down to see you this summer.
Love your quilts and the encouragement to pray when doing crafts. I’ve never quilted before but seeing what you have done is enticing. My cousin is really into quilting and has her own blog. I’ll forward your blog on to her.
Thank you for forwarding my blog. As for you quilting, I say go for it. Ask your cousin to help you start, and you’ll be a pro in no time! Good luck!