Hail and Farewell

This quilt was made for a friend whose knowledge was boundless. He was our "go to" guy for many things, and especially Latin phrases. His most memorable assistance was the Chuckles the Clown quote from The Mary Tyler Moore Show: "minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum" which means "a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants." It was difficult to decide on a theme for his quilt. One morning, inspiration struck while I was watching "I Remember Mama." Their lodger Mr. Hyde left his collection of classic literature for the children. His farewell note ended with the Latin phrase "Ave atque Vale" - hail and farewell, a fitting sentiment for this retiree.

This quilt was created for a wonderful person who was known for baking the most beautiful and delicious cheesecakes. She was delighted with it.

SHOE QUILT

Thanks to Nellie Durand for letting me use her concept - this quilt was second prize at a fundraising event! The shoes on top of the boxes represent the shoes a woman would wear throughout her life, baby shoes to comfortable shoes. WHAT FUN IT WAS TO MAKE!

NORTH WOODS

This nice lady worked in registration. She and her husband loved to spend weekends in their cabin up north. When I made these blocks, it reminded me of her. Now that she's retired, I hope she's enjoying her cabin! Thanks to my daughter for rotating the image.

A FISH STORY

He taught tech ed, she worked in registration. They loved to go fishing and that was the perfect theme for this couple's quilt. I found a batik that captured his gray hair very well, and put him in his standard plaid shirt. The marbled fabric really matched her blonde hair and she loved her polka-dot t-shirt. After this photo was taken, I added fishing rods made from twigs from the yard, and each had a string line with a tiny cloth fish attached. He vowed he would not shed a tear when leaving his job, and he didn't - until he saw this quilt. And that is the reason I create these quilts: to let friends know how much they mean! Isn't there someone you know that needs a quilt?

THE EASIEST QUILT IN THE WORLD

This quilt was made for a friend who's a very talented photographer. It is made of clear vinyl, stitched down in standard photo sizes so that she can design her own quilt, over and over again. She can choose what photos she wants, whenever she wants. The border is a clock fabric that symbolizes the time she'll have in retirement to take photos whenever she wants.

HALLOWEEN DOORS

Every year back in the good old days, we'd hold a door decorating contest. There were prizes, but the most fun was actually doing the decorating. The recipient of this quilt organized the decorating in her area for many years. When she retired, this was the only concept I would consider. I made fifteen blocks and gave them to her friends. They each created their own door. The last door at the bottom right opened up with a message for her. This was the quilt that taught me a valuable lesson - when others do the work for you, your job is easier. Her dearest friend actually hooked up a small battery pack so her door lit up! This was one of my favorites ever, even though it was horrific sewing the vinyl windows. A lot of angry words were hollered at the sewing machine when this one was constructed.