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A Sight..to Behold

Story Submitted by: aneternalpoet

A little baby was born , perfect, and adorable.. Reddish blond hair, what there was of it. Eyes, fingers, toes all perfect .. A healthy little baby boy.. Oliver is his name.. And , at 5 months of age, is 99.9 % blind, due to an under developed optic nerve at birth. A chance for sight, maybe so, but most likely not, from what was told to the parents of this precious child.. Being a self concious quilter, afraid to show off a quilt that I have made, I hesitate . I shake, and quake at the thought that some other quilter, male or female, would see, and start picking out bad seams, or triangles that lose their point.. It has happened more times than I want to remember, and its defeating to the spirit of the one who at least is trying to make something out of scraps ( life ) , into a work of beauty. It's not the quilts fault that seams are crooked, or puckers are puckering more than a sweet granny kissing on a grandchild's pink rosey cheeks. Yet, this is what is still a very common occurence with my quilting. Because, I , too , have a challenge visually with eyesight. Though not blind, I am legally blind.. But mums the word, because nothing usually stops me from trying something at least once! Ollie, because he is a normal little baby in every other way, should have a quilt .. one that cuddles him in his mommy/daddies arms. One that is bright and fun and washable!! He's a baby afterall, and drools, and spits up, and occassionally already is known to spring a leak , if you know what I mean! A quilt, yes, for a child, just as every child should have one ( though not all do, sadly ).. I was encouraged to make this little fella a " sensory quilt".. ok, so I was a little slow on the uptake, " What's a " sensory" quilt I asked? "... a few minutes later, I sheepishly hung my head , and said, " oh".. Thus, a sensory quilt of textures, fabrics, and tears began for this little baby, whose sight will probably never visually be able to see it, but his fingers, his mouth, and his heart will one day. Because I needed to know, and understand how it feels to be completely sightless, I took a deep breath, and felt by fingertips some of the pieces of fabric that I recieved from quilting friends all over the ocuntry. But I did all that , blindfolded.. Yes, needles pricks, nose to the grindstone, literally as I came to close to the needle a time or two, and one finger sewn perfectly for about a quarter inch .. true! Ouch!!, but true. Each person wanted to be part of this little quilt, because of the inspiration that Ollie's birth had meant to them. None of them knows he,, or I, for that matter.. Yet, quilting life means having more friends to inspire you by - whether its their perfect quilt tops, or ones like the one I made for Ollie, definitly crooked, but perfectly designed in love. I set to task , on sewing some of this quilt top.. I matched with fingertips as best I could from cut squares of fleece, flannels, bumpy / stretchy material ( I have no clue what it is, though its like slipper bottoms when youre in the hospital ).. Talk about being visually challenged, when trying to sew things such as that.. But all said and done, a " sensory " quilt top was completed, with a few individual pockets sewn onto the front for tucking in special words of "You can do all that you want to do! " . " Sight is not just for the seeing.. its for the INSIGHTFUL "... and my favorite of all, " A Pocket to catch all your Dreams"... The backing fabric , if you look close , is skatebaords.. Ollie's daddy loves skateboarding, even now into his late 20's.. His dream was to have a son, and teach him all the tricks of the death defying moves that he had learned over his 13 years of skateboarding. Moves that defy logic, AND gravity, lol.. Yet, moves the father wanted to teach his son in the worst way.. Then being told there is probabililty of no sight, his questions became, " How do I teach my boy how to do what I love to do?".. Simple , put him on the board, have him hold on , and teach him how to feel.. feel, experience, and dream.. Its in your back pocket, I told him.. This quilt, by no means beautiful on the outside like so many shown here on this website, is to me, MORE beautiful for two reasons : 1) It is made in perfect love for a special little baby whose life will never be dull. Not with having so many quilting grannies who will always remember the pieces of fabric they sent to create his quilt.. And 2) it is beautiful because, being challenged with a lack of self confidence to show anything that is not perfect, I learned that that beauty is in the Eyes of the beHolder.. and for me, I am holding this little quilt wrapping memories of making it to teach about touch, and about love from others who never will know what it means to be sightless, yet who do know what it means to be In - Sight- Full...

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Quilters Quips and Tips: Will You Be Wearing Green?

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Will you be wearing green? Do you have any traditions you practice on St. Patrick's Day? Do you watch a parade, drink green beer, or down a loaf of soda bread? Have you ever made a St. Patrick's quilt? Submit a comment and let us know how you celebrate the day.

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Free Applique Template

Photo by Gregory Case Photography

We know that you who have watched Episode 806 with Verna Mosquera were charmed by her delightful designs. Verna graciously sent TQS the templates for the poodle and purse featured in her newest quilt Mon Ami. Check out the Projects page for the downloadable templates, so that you can make your own charming block into a pillow, purse, or mini wall hanging.

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Pam Holland - Museum Inspiration

How museums lead to great ideas and great quilts.

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2010 Open European Quilt Championships Winners

Mark your calendar for one of Europe's largest quilt shows. This year's Open European Quilt Championships will be held May 5-8, 2011 in Vedlhofen, Holland. Along with workshops, lectures, vendor booth, and of course lots of quilts, this four day event brings many of Europes most admired quilt artists under one roof for you to see and meet. See all the winning quilts from the 2010 show.

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Quilters Quips and Tips: Infinite Variety additional discussions

A lot of you are excited about the 650 red and white quilts that will be shown in New York City in the Infinite Variety-Three Centuries of Red and White Quilts exhibit in just a few more days. Along with the exhibit, are some wonderful discussions about how the concept of the exhibition was brought to life and about red and white quilts in general. For more information about the exhibition, which is free to the public, click here.

Infinite Possibility: The Making of Infinite Variety

Friday, March 25, in the Tiffany Room

6-7 pm

Speakers: Tom Hennes and Steven Shaw

Fee: $30 general; $25 museum members, seniors, and students

The design team that realized the vision of "Infinite Variety" will discuss the genesis of the exhibition concept and the process of bringing it to fruition. Join Tom Hennes and Steven Shaw of Thinc Design for a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at a year-long creative journey. The talk will be followed by a wine reception.

Infinite Variety: A History of Red and White Quilts

Sunday, March 27, in the Tiffany Room

2-3 pm

Speaker: Elizabeth V. Warren

Fee: $20 general; $15 museum members, seniors, and students

Red and white has been a classic color scheme for American quilts since the early nineteenth century. Guest curator Elizabeth V. Warren will discuss the popularity of the color combination and the different kinds of quilts that employ it, including geometric pieced quilts, traditional appliqué and "snowflake" appliqué quilts, "fund-raisers," including Red Cross quilts, and embroidered quilts. The talk will be followed by a book signing.

Programming is sponsored in part by Allan Katz Americana/Penny & Allan Katz.

For a sneak peek of the show, watch the video.

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Applique Treats with Verna Mosquera -Episode 806

Photo by Gregory Case Photography

Do you own—or have your ever dreamed of owning—a home-based, quilting-related business? If so, you’ll want to hear what quiltmaker, fabric designer, and successful businesswoman Verna Mosquera has to say about the challenges of balancing business—her pattern company, The Vintage Spool, focuses on romantic and timeless quilt designs——and family life. Then Verna shows some of her beautiful quilts, and gives Ricky a lesson in hand appliqué, focusing on clean, sharp points and deep Vs. The episode concludes with a tour of our location for the day, the home of Trish and Frank Cvetovac, where you’ll enjoy a glimpse of the various rooms devoted to baseball, grandmother, and other “interesting” themes.

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TQS Interviews: Sharon Pederson

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Row by Month Quilt

For their 2009 quilt challenge, the Juniper Berries quilt group in Sisters, OR, put together some fabulous quilts following some very simple guidelines. Here are the rules they followed:

Each participating member offered a theme, color scheme and some fabric choices for her quilt.
She put them in a box with one completed row.
Each month the box/quilt would be passed on to another member for them to create a complimentary row.
The boxes/quilts were passed each month till every participant had a created a row.
Then when the box/quilt was returned to the originator (12+months later) - they had the honor of putting the rows together in whatever way they choose.

Wouldn't this be a great idea for your small quilt group or guild?

Here are just a few of the quilts they created. They are so diverse, doesn't it get your creative juices flowing?

Members who participated were:

Jeanne Sellgren
Phyllis Dickenson
Lori Gailey
Karen Mansker
Sally Brown
Peggy Lindsay
Ann Richardson
Candy Woods
Cathy Moen
Lynda Murphy

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Trailer 806 -- Verna Mosquara

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