As I pondered what to do for “Strong”, I was moving my studio from one building to another. First there is the strength it takes to actually move furniture and fabric (1 yard is 1 lb). But, as I sorted through items and put them in just the right place it was the strength of the memories that amazed me.
So many of those pieces of fabric reminded me of who, what, where, and when. The fabric with pins on it, called me to make a “Square-in-a-Square” block. When I was young I slept under a quilt my Grandmother had made with that pattern. I found a little leaf and knew that would work well to symbolize my husband. He wanted to be a park ranger and going for walks in the woods has always been a relaxing activity for us. Of course there have been adventures, but that’s for another time. That adorable heart is for our love and the love we share with our sons and now their wives and girlfriend. The women in their lives make my heart happy.
To pick just one thing to symbolize each son was difficult. To know them from day one brings back lots of memories. For our oldest, since he served in the Marine Corps I used a piece of fabric with the Marine Corps emblem on it. Our middle son is a graphic designer and we got him a cat for his 14th birthday, so the cat is his. When our youngest was 2 he loved trains and everything about them and I had a piece with train tracks on them. The train engine on the fabric was too large. Each one of these squares finished at 1 1/2”.
Of course the log cabin block is in the center, measuring 2 1/2” finished. We have a happy home that we like to share with others. Through the years we didn’t gather around the fireplace hearth a lot, but we did spend many enjoyable meals together at the supper table.
The two pink blocks go from the simple beginning of my quilting with the 9-Patch block and finishes with the more complex Ohio Star block. Quilting has been a big part of my journey. Strength in the memories, as well as the strength in the comfort quilts have given us and others, make it the perfect symbol for “Strong”.
This was a jigsaw puzzle. I drew it out on graph paper so that I could piece it together in rows.
I like how this photo shows the quilting.
