Storyline Summer 2018

The first quilt I owned was made for me by my
grandmother for my sixteenth birthday. The ‘Dresden
Plate’ pattern, made from leftover flannel used for
pyjamas made for her grandchildren every Christmas, was
appliqued on to a background of robin’s egg blue cotton
and outlined with black hand embroidery. It came with
me to Canadian Bible College, brightening and beautifying
the dorm room, even while providing a visible reminder
that Grandma was praying for me. It was my bedspread
of choice during the two years I spent in Fort Nelson, B.C.,
where I met and married my husband Terry. It graced our
bed until it became more a tattered eyesore than a thing
of beauty. A few years ago, I tried to get it appraised but I
was gently informed that my well-loved and overused quilt
now had sentimental value only. Each time I see it, I am
now reminded that it is my responsibility to pray for my
grandson. The torch has been passed.
After receiving grandma’s gift, I decided to make my own
quilt. I learned to sew at a very young age, and quilting
looked
“
like an easy skill to acquire.
What I didn’t realize was that
quilting took patience and precision,
two qualities I decidedly did
”
NOT
possess as as a young girl.
I still have all the pieces in a box somewhere in the
basement!
About ten years ago, I decided to take another look at
quilting. I took a beginner class and churned out a number
of smaller quilts for family and friends, as well as several
queen-sized quilts for myself.
I advanced in my quilting skills really by accident, when
I saw a pattern of a moose head on sale for $10 and
bought it. I’m reasonably good at reading and following
instructions but when I later pulled them out of the
package, I realized that I no idea how to even begin. Some
weeks later I saw a finished quilt of a buffalo head by the
same designer at a local shop. Upon enquiring if this was
a class, I was told, “No, but if you come to the applique
drop-in classes, the leader can show you how to do yours.”
The first month I was instructed to trace every tiny, jagged
piece of the pattern onto double sided fusible applique
paper and then cut them all out. In the months following,
each piece had to be ironed on to the chosen shade of
fabric and then cut out again. Even when I finally started
to put the pieces together, I had to work in sections ... the
eye area first, then antlers, and finally the beard and face,
ironing the sections onto freezer paper. I remember how
proud I was to see it finally fused to the background fabric.
I also remember how my jaw dropped when the instructor
then explained that I needed to carefully match thread
color to each tiny piece and sew around every jagged edge
to hold it all permanently in place and also to give it depth!
The whole project took over a year and a half of four-hour
classes, plus homework. If I had had any idea in that first
class of the detailed, picky work it required, I might have
given up before I began! (continued on next page ...)