The New year has started off rough. Life has kept me otherwise busy, anxious and pre-occupied. To cope, I’ve been working on an EPP quilt. Small pieces, handcut templates, basting. All mind-less, repetitive activities I’ve used to cope with anxiety. At this point I don’t even want to know how many kites and hexies and half-hexies I’ve made!
April 2021: Life has not returned to ‘normal’. I’ve just had to adjust, adapt, and continue on.
My family has lost an important member, and every day I think of something I want to pass on, a gardening joke, a weather comparison, a smell that reminds me of another time and place. Sometimes I send the jokes or thoughts or weather to someone else. Sometimes I just lament that there’s a void. As mentioned, life continues. Life goes on.
So, on to the Aussie quilt again…
This is by far mom’s favourite block. It’s in memory of my parent’s wedding anniversary.
Burgundy is my mom’s colour. So of course finding a floral, heart shaped pattern with a background of burgundy was perfect for this block! I quilted it very simply, following the lines of the heart and the swags.
My parents were married in February, shortly after Valentines Day, in the middle of a bad snowstorm. Because my dad was in the military on short leave, they couldn’t just reschedule it.
As she tells it, my parents, my aunt and my grandparents were about the only ones able to show up. But they were married for 45 years, so an inauspicious start wasn’t much of a hindrance. They went on to have eight (8!) of us children!! I was by far the favourite, of course (hey, its my blog, TJ)!!!
(Sidenote: I wore this same dress for my wedding twenty-five odd years later)
The reason my mom and younger brother came to Australia, was my oldest daughter getting married to her sweetheart. Everything else was icing on the wedding cake, so to speak.
There’s a certain similarity to both of their wedding flowers in these blocks, sweet pink rose clusters. It appealed to my sense of life’s circularity. To match it a bit more, I used a heart template roughly the size of the heart quilting on my mom’s block. It’s a looser, not as traditional styling as her block which was suitable for a much younger, modern bride while still holding that bit of bridal tradition.
Remember I told you to look forward to the picture of my brother modelling? Here it is. Somewhat ironic that he was attempting to model the veil without any hair on his shiny head! Also, he’s never married. Always a bridesmaid and all that…..
When I first arrived in Australia, I remember seeing the most intricate wrought iron balconies and fences and gates. Someone told me that it was called “lacework” and that description has always seemed appropriate. It shows up in cities all over Australia. This fabric has the delicate scrollwork (though not the symmetry!) of iron lacework.
When silver threads are sewn into,
The quilt of life, inspired by you,
The memories of all you’ve done
The love you’ve shared, can’t be undone.
~ Raelene
