Serendipity

Today my mom stopped by to pick up my oldest son to take him to a playdate at her house. When she arrived, I was in the midst of the cleaning/de-cluttering frenzy I wrote about in the previous post. Therefore, when she informed me that she had brought me a "few things", I was not in the frame of mind to warmly welcome anyTHING else into my home. I think I even said something like, "It better not be any more CRAP to clutter up my house." Sorry, Mom! (I'm sure you're used to me by now.) Anyway, she told me that the "things" included a quilt that my aunt gave her to give me. A quilt that my OWN grandma made!! (Sidenote: I only got to know one of my grandmas, my father's mother. My mother's mother died a month before I was born. It's one of my life's regrets that I did not ever get to meet her.) I LOVED the grandma that I knew. I have so many memories of her, even though she died before I reached high school. Anyway, I was quickly remorseful when I realized that my mom had unexpectedly brought me such a treasure. I own another quilt she made for me and gave me when she was alive. It is one of my most prized posessions. It was on my childhood bed for many years and is now on a quilt rack in my bedroom. My dad made the quilt rack, so it's special too. Below is a photo of the quilt. It is so pretty, and is hand-quilted by my grandma. I am not sure whether it is hand-pieced or machine-pieced. I'll have to ask my aunt or my mom.



The reason I titled this post "Serendipity" is because it was very serendipitous that this quilt arrived when it did. (NOTE: I just looked up the meaning of serendipity to make sure I'm using it correctly in this context. Webster's defines it as: "the faculty of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for." Definitely the case here.) I have just finished reading another Elm Creek Quilt novel by Jennifer Chiaverini. The one I read is pictured below and is called Circle of Quilters. I love these novels. They are easy to read, well-written, and have a lot of quilt info thrown in. After I read the book, I was thinking that I would enjoy making a quilt. I've made a few quilts before, but not since I had children. My mom has gotten into quilting in her retirement and does them completely by hand, the piecing and everything. I'd like to make one totally by hand. I may just make a wall-hanging; we'll see. The arrival of this new and treasured quilt gives me the motivation I need to try a quilt of my own in the new year. So look for some posts about that sometime in 2009.

If you are a quilter reading this post, I'd love to have you write me a comment. I am wondering what would be a good pattern to try for my first hand-pieced quilt. Let me know if you have any ideas.