Walking Away

It’s completely different from giving up.

I’m not abandoning my applique. Not even close. I’ve come so far, and I’m so proud. But sometimes other things come along that take the foreground.

It recently came to my attention that a person very dear to me needed reminding of how much she is loved and appreciated. My aunt often goes without any gratitude whatsoever. After the recent death of her husband of 58 years, she needs her family more than ever. So, we have decided to show her how much we care with a quilt.

While I was up visiting her over the holidays, she showed me a quilt she designed that she calls the “Circle-Square Quilt.” It is literally just that: a circle folded into a square. She pieces by machine and then hand-quilts her work. She is a lover of yo-yo’s and often uses them as embellishments.

While brain-storming the perfect craft to show our gratefulness, it dawned upon us to use her creation. We will use not just her design. We will hand quilt it, and we will appropriately adorn it with yo-yo’s.

We are planning to make each square (from a circle!), hand quilt each, and then mail them off to her family and friends to have them sign words of encouragement, appreciation, and gratitude. While we wait for the squares to return, we are going to screen print a picture of my aunt and uncle onto fabric to use as the center block.

The “we” that I keep mentioning is me and my cousin, Sarah. This is her first quilt, and this is my first time making this quilt, so we are learning together.

We are learning for someone who truly deserves our effort.