In the spring of 2004, my mother began chemotherapy for a form of leukemia that had turned from very slow to very aggressive. That news was recent, and my grandmother was slipping away from us (at age 103!) when my sister-in-law in N.C. passed away from a sudden illness. My mind was a blur, thus some things were forgotten as we packed, so we ended up running errands at a mall the day before the funeral. A sidewalk sale at the bookstore beckoned, and of course, I had to buy a quilt book that was 50% off--I needed something to relax with!
Thumbing through “The Big Book of Quilting” I came across a paper-pieced pattern of an origami crane. Immediately I recalled the Japanese legend that if someone folds 1000 paper cranes, their wish will be granted. I tried to visualize 1000 quilt blocks. 500 front and back? Not realistic, I thought. But I couldn’t shake the thought of 1000 cranes. When I got home, I did some research, and found that the legend is both ancient and modern. The modern part is from a young survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, who came down with Leukemia, and attempted to fold 1000 cranes before her death. I knew this quilt HAD to be made.
I had paper-pieced TWO blocks before, both for community quilts made on Alex’s former message board for members in need of warmth and comfort as they went through difficult times. So how to make 1000 cranes? Ask your internet buddies for help! I put out a plea, and about 30 quilters responded--and many more offered prayers.
The book said this block was of medium difficulty. I sent off the instructions, and sat down and started to make cranes. At the end of May, cranes started arriving. Even though some made more than one, it wasn’t 1000. But I was determined to do this somehow. Mom got thru the initial chemo well enough, and I kept sewing. In the end, 110 blocks were made by 23 quilters from 15 states, plus 70 that I made here in Virginia. I waited to see how many I had before working out a layout.
In the meantime, another message board buddy found just what I needed, and sent me a link to a fabric printed with folded paper cranes! Problem solved! I ordered it for the backing. I came up with a layout that looked slightly oriental AND made a bed-sized quilt. With the quilt pin-basted, I tasked my children with counting cranes on the back (within the intended final size.) They figured that if they laid a penny on each image, then counted the pennies, they’d be sure the count was accurate. We were about 100 shy of the goal. Then I thought about quilting it, and realized that if I outline quilted each crane, there would be 180 MORE cranes on the back, and that put us over 1000.
All summer, my Mom was out of town participating in a drug trial at Johns Hopkins. When I wasn’t running up and down the highway, I was focused on this quilt. By November, it was finished, and in December, she got the good news: remission. She’s still doing well, and she loves the quilt.
Post Script: I searched on members of The World Quilt Community and recognize at least two of the participants in this project. :)
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.jpg "2019 Sponsor - BERNINA Q 24")
