In 1995, about a year after we moved from Indiana to Quincy, a woman commissioned me to make a quilt. She wanted a "pineapple log cabin" and described the colors as blue and maroon. So I set out to make the quilt top.
Now this was back when I pieced by machine, but I did all the quilting by hand. And before embarking on that task, I took the top to her to make sure it was the colors she had imagined. It was not.
So, I purchased colors much lighter than the ones I had chosen and set about making a second top and then quilted it. She was delighted.
Fast forward maybe 10 years or so to the Quincy Quilt Guild's fundraising activity of selling our unfinished projects to each other. To any one who does not quilt, that will sound a bit off. But to anyone who does indulge, you will understand the nature of such an exchange. Carla Gower, who is an award winner machine quilter from Lewistown, Missouri, purchased the top. And that was the last I had heard or thought about the quilt. Until last week.
Carla called to say that she had entered the finished quilt in the Machine Quilter's Showcase. This is an annual competition for machine quilters around the world and this year was held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Carla went on to explain that the quilt had received a Second Place in its category. And that they had not only sent a ribbon to her, but also had sent a ribbon to the person who had done the piecing. Me!
Today Carla came over to show me the quilt and to bring me my ribbon. Such a reunion! It's incredible to see how much my work has changed since then. But regardless of that evolution, the connection to the process of cutting, piecing, and stitching fabric remains.
Many, many thanks to Carla for her efforts and for the recognition that she gave to me on the quilt. It is such treat to see it again!
