Work continues on the 2nd baby quilt. I have the most lovely callouses on my fingers. I managed to do about 3 hours of stitching yesterday, and I will do more this afternoon while watching football. My guess is that I'm awfully close to having just the borders to go - very good progress, I do believe.
First, I will explain more fully why it has taken me nearly 2 years to make 2 baby quilts for my twin neices. I am notoriously slow at completing projects, but these quilts would have taken priority if I'd been intending to do the entire job myself. You see, my "plan" was to stitch the tops and then turn them over to Grandma for hand quilting. As referenced several different places on this blog, Grandma is 92, and has quilted since she was a girl. That would be 80 years or so!! She has always had a project going, and often has several in the works. Typical quilter fashion: have one in the piecing stage, another in quilting stage, another in binding, and so on.
About a year and a half ago, after a rather rough time with her health, she just up and announces that she thinks she's done with quilting. She said she simply didn't have the desire to do it anymore. Now, she and I go way back with our shared hobby, and she's had episodes of this before, but she would always come around after a bit and get back into it. I would tempt her with a stack of fat quarters in her favorite colors or invite her to join me on a trip to a beloved quilt shop, and voila! she'd be hooked again!
Well, this time, she's sticking to her guns, by gosh. I have taken the two quilt tops over to her, and she declined. I tried playing on her emotions that these would be so special to the babies having come from the hands of their 92-year-old great grandmother. I tried to play on her sense of economy, telling her that they were baby quilts and she'd be able to finish them so fast. Time and again, she flatly declined! At last I came to accept that she really does mean it. She is done with quilting. Makes me sad to think of it.
When I got out of school in May, I decided that I'd make it my job to finish them in time for the girls' second birthday in October. Grandma would have had both quilts done in a month, if not sooner, but I am a slow quilter, and I did have other projects, both quilting and otherwise, that I focused on as well. Now here we are in the homestretch. The big birthday is October 11, and I feel confident that I will meet my deadline.
I will try to find a picture of Grandma to include on this blog, and I will definitely look for some pics of the girls, too.
I enjoyed the story about your Grandmother but it's a bit sad that you no longer have a quilting partner. I bet she still takes an interest in your projects though. Any chance we get to see some of her quilts?
ReplyDeleteI think pictures can be arranged. :-) I do miss taking our little trips to quilt shops. She just doesn't have the stamina to go anymore. Stays close to home; just feels safer, I think. Thanks for asking!
ReplyDeleteLove your quilting. I also have twin grandaughters who will be two on October 11!
ReplyDeletekj, you aren't my mother, are you??? Just as I'm sure yours are, these little ones are so sweet. Their names are Mary Jean and Anna Rose, and they are called both names - no shortening to Mary and Anna. Their Aunt Jayne will get to babysit them this Wednesday evening, and I am looking forward to it!!
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