A Tribute to Harry and his Quilt.

Most of you know I have a longarm quilting machine and have been practicing to improve my skills. For awhile I was just practicing on fabric but eventually a person has to start quilting on real quilts.

Some friends and family have allowed me to "practice" on their quilts and I am glad for the opportunity to do that.

Sally in Oregon sent me a "special" quilt. The quilt top was made about 30 years ago and has been laying in a storage box for many years. It was made by Harry, her husband who is no longer with us.

Harry made this quilt top back when Olfa changed quilt block cutting with the invention of the rotary cutter. That was in the late 70's. That was the beginning a strip quilting.

So.... the quilt top made a trip across the country from Oregon to Florida. Then it went to the quilt store to find a suitable backing fabric. When I explained to the clerk in the fabric store that I needed fabric for this very ordinary quilt... yet a very "unordinary" quilt with meaning to family and to me, she made a great effort to help find the right fabric. ( Now those of you who quilt know about the great effort spent to find the "just right" piece of fabric.)

I put this quilt on the quilting machine and memories began to flow. I remembered meeting with Harry on Sunday morning over the years and how he always spoke first. I remembered him coming to our house for meals and laughing with our kids. I remember a simple little conversation our kids had with him. He would ask them how they were and they would say good and he would say .. oh that's too bad. I remember having him over every time my father came to visit because Harry and my father enjoyed it. I can still see him sitting on a certain bench a certain year at Saginaw.

Well, the quilt is quilted and the binding put on. It layed over the back of my couch for a couple of days before I returned it to its owner. I had to just look at it for a bit and cherish memories. When I took the longarm classes in St. Louis, Mo, the teacher Kay Capps-Cross mentioned how quilts are more than just pieces of fabric. They sometimes represent a special person, a special time, a special experience.