I hope the writer won't mind if I share its contents with you.
The email was from Laura who was on a mission of sorts. Sadly her mother had passed away and Laura had inherited her mother's half finished sewing and craft projects. Laura described her mother as being both a "proficient and prolific craft person" and I immediately thought about my own stash of half finished projects I too would probably leave behind when my turn came around.
Laura has decided to take on the task of finishing some of these projects so that she can give them to family members and was writing seeking some technical advice.
Laura's mission reminded me of two other kindred spirits who came to seek similar advice a few years back. One daughter had inherited a collection of cream heirloom quilt blocks, some of which were complete while others remained to be worked. Luckily she also had the pattern and just needed some assistance to learn the embroidery stitches required to complete the quilt. Over the next few months I fondly watched as her mother's stitches blended with her own. I am very pleased to report the quilt was eventually completed and now sits pride of place on her bed.
The other daughter came with a request of a slightly different nature. Her mother had passed away a few years ago and she had kept the outfit her mother had very happily worn on her daughter's wedding day. The daughter had been unable to part with it because it held such happy memories for her, although she felt that tucking the outfit away in a cupboard somewhere was a bit pointless. Instead her ambitious plan was to incorporate some of the fabric from the outfit into a quilt for her bedroom. Thankfully the two piece outfit was made of cotton and we were able to cut enough squares from the gathered skirt and blouse to feature in the quilt. Needless to say she was thrilled with the result and can now look at the quilt each day with fond memories.
These wonderful acts of love in motion all touched my heart and have given me hope.
Hope that I may also find the time to finish two half completed projects I have inherited from my own much missed Grandmother, and hope that there is also a chance for my collection of unfinished projects to be finished one day in my memory.
What a lovely idea.
Warmly Lenna
PS I have received many stories after writing this blog and have included one of them here with the permission of the writer.
Hi Lenna,
After reading on the blog about "unfinished projects" I thought I would share mine with you and your readers if you would care to post.
The quilt in the picture was pieced with scraps of colorful fabric and flour sacks by my grandmother in 1930. Called a grandmother's flower garden quilt, each "flower" is pieced together from individual hexagon pieces. When I was in my early 40's (about 15 years ago) my grandmother gave me the quilt top. I have always loved the idea of quilting, but lacked the knowledge to know what to do next. Fortunately for me, I made friends with an Amish family that offered to help get the batting and backing in place. They fixed the rotted pieces of the the quilt and after a 7 hour drive to Illinois, they showed me how to back the quilt and stretch it up for the actual quilting...we had a little quilting bee for a couple hours before I had to pack up and head for home - it was a wonderful experience while it lasted. So, now every year, I hoop quilt a section of it in the dead of winter - that seems to make the dreary days seem a little brighter...and I am about halfway finished as of this year! I can't imagine the time it took to cut the exact pieces and then hand sew them perfectly together. But then again, my grandmother was an amazing woman! She did the most beautiful handwork...tatting, crocheting, knitting, embroidery...I am so fortunate to have some of her work in my collection of linens, etc. Hopefully in a few years it will be finished and I can put it on display.
Best regards!
Sandy K.