Fast forward to "much older and a bit wiser". I love old quilts! I enjoy hand quilting. And, I sure wish that I would have sat down with either or both of my grandmothers to learn some stitching. Grandma Hoovler was an amazing seamstress. She made a great many dresses for my sisters and me. Each unique and splendid in craftmanship.
Grandma Blair was a quiltmaker and she loved to embroider. She made tea towels, pillow slips, as she called them, and samplers. Whenever we visited, there was never a time she wasn't busy stitching something. I'll always remember her old, round purple cookie tin. That tin held mysterious things like her needles, threads and thimbles. It was always quickly put away when we arrived so that there were no accidents. Among the many "if only-ies" I have in my life one of them would be to sit with my grandmothers and learn a few things about stitching and life.
This winter I'm making the two older granddaughters each little quilts for their dolls. Ada's doll quilt will match her baby quilt. I had some leftover patches and figured it was easy to just make a small one. Hopefully, she will like that they are matching quilts. Roslyn's is another matter. Is it bizarre to agonize over a doll quilt?? There were many minutes spent browsing quilt books trying to find patch I could make without it being so difficult or overly involved that it would take forever. I kept telling myself, "It's just a doll quilt!".
I settled on a single patch that is a copy from an old quilt that my sister bought me. She called it a "rescue quilt". That just means that she rescued it from being ignored and unsold at the Quilt Auction. I love it. I only wish I knew the name of the patch. The fabrics were chosen from my stash that I've gathered over the years. It went together rather well...not perfectly, but, it is me that is sewing it. After all, it is a doll quilt. The center looked too plain and I just couldn't think of what to do to dress it up a bit. Then the idea of a center initial came to me. Well, anyone could embroider one letter. It's a "R"! How hard can an "R" be? Checked around online and found an "R". Not a plain one, but not too frilly or fancy one. I should be able to do this. Right? Here is what I came up with. It is a little doll quilt sewn with love. Caution: This is my first attempt. Those of you who know what you are doing, there is a reason that the photo was taken from this distance--it looks better the farther away you are. You can laugh, but just don't tell me you laughed. It is a doll quilt :-)
I must admit that, while I struggled with getting the hang of even the simplest of stitches, I was sad when it was completed. There is no consistency in my stitches--some are real short and then the others are kinda long. It doesn't look too bad, as long as you don't look very closely.
I'm working on the binding for Ada's quilt, so you'll get to see it when it is all done.
We sang this hymn on Sunday. It is one of my favorites and I haven't sung it in a long time. These are a few of the lines:
Be Still My Soul
Be still, my soul; the Lord is on your side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to your God to order and provide;
In every change he faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; your best, your heavenly, Friend;
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul; your God does undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Your hope, your confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.
These two stanzas resonated with me as if it was the first time I had read them. Such truth, hope and reassurance sung to a beautiful, haunting melody. Good words to remember.
Stay warm!
