Claudia's Quilt Saga

You have met Claudia here many times. She came to me through a local art group when I offered a quilting class. Claudia was in every sense of the term a novice. She'd had no previous quilting experience. But one thing she did have was desire. Oh my goodness, to think how she has progressed!

But this post is not about her growth as a quilter. You can search back through old posts to see her progress. No, today's post is about lost quilts and found quilts.

Summer Breeze

Disappearing 9-Patch

After Claudia had made a couple of quilt tops, she was interested in getting them quilted with the intention of giving them as Christmas gifts. Now this all would have happened in early 2016 - maybe April or May - plenty of time for quilts to be done for Christmas. I recommended my go-to quilter, Terry, and gave Terry's number to Claudia. At that point it was for them to arrange.

Throughout the summer, Claudia asked me a couple of times whether or not Terry would have her quilts finished. I knew that Terry had been having terrible mechanical troubles with her machine, so I wasn't surprised that it seemed to take awhile. I was so swamped with commissions of my own, that I really didn't think too much on it. I do remember, however, Terry mentioning that Claudia had called and asked about her quilts. Terry said she didn't have any of Claudia's quilts.

And this was the beginning of a great mystery. Claudia dropped off the quilts as instructed "in a plastic bag on the unlocked screened porch in back," yet Terry didn't have them?? What on earth had happened?

It all became clear in late summer or early autumn. I had a longer conversation with Claudia and when she described where she'd dropped off the quilts, I knew that she'd gone to the wrong address. A large plastic bag containing two finished quilt tops, batting and backings had been dropped off at Terry's neighbor's house. Now to get the neighbor involved and to discover what had become of Claudia's quilts.

The neighbor is away from home a lot - something about frequently visiting children and grandchildren. On several different occasions, all three of us - Claudia, Terry and I - attempted to make contact with her to no avail. Messages were left with no response. Finally, really late in the fall, Terry called me as she was leaving her driveway to tell me that people were home at her neighbor's and that it might me a good time to call right then. Rather than call, I sent a text.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.

Finally, a response! She knew that a bag of quilts had been left on her porch. She had given them very little thought with her being on the go so much and knowing that the previous owner of her house had been a quilter. It was her assumption that the previous owner would straighten out the confusion, so she just left them alone. She had never considered that someone looking for Terry might have gotten the address wrong. The long and the short of it is that the quilts were recovered. The neighbor took them over to Terry who made contact with Claudia and eventually, the quilts got quilted.  It was much too late to have these done before Christmas, but they are done now, and that is what you see above.

You can imagine Claudia's surprise, relief and excitement at hearing the good news. That was a phone call I was more than happy to make!

I love a story with a happy ending. And we had all gotten to the point that we were likely going to have a terrible ending! Think of all the possibilities!

Now since you have been overloaded with reading, I will show you some more of Claudia's quilts. She really has become quite prolific.

Monkey Wrench Table Topper

Colorful Wall Hanging

Herringbone quilt

Pieced Backing

Summer Breeze Close Up

Tomorrow, Claudia and Denise will be back for 'quilt school.' The lesson will be piecing circular shapes. I have prepped some things for them and will give you all an update soon.

Happy Quilting, Friends!