In Memoriam

My Dear Mary passed away Saturday Night.  I will miss her more than she'll ever know.   She has been such an important part of my personal and quilting life.  Today would have been her 87th Birthday.

After moving to the east coast, we enjoyed a nearly yearly visit in Illinois.  

 At the AQS show in Paducah to see my Jubilee quilt 2015.

in NYC at the Red & White exhibit

My Last photo taken on a visit in October with our Alice Payne Quilts.

I took this secret photo on that visit.  We loved to sit and look through and discuss quilt books together.

I made the Sparrow quilt in memory of my Mother, Cathy.  It was Mary's idea to the sparrow make it a moniker of my work.    So, you see, getting the tattoo was a tribute to these special women.

If you missed it in my last post, here is the sparrow story along with the tattoo photo.

The Sparrow 
by:  Paul Simon

Who will love a little Sparrow
Who’s traveled far and cries for rest?
“Not I,” said the Oak Tree
“I won’t share my branches with no sparrow’s nest
And my blanket of leaves won’t warm her old breast”

Who will love a little Sparrow
And who will speak a kindly word?
“Not I, “ said the Swan
“The entire idea is utterly absurd
I’d be laughed at and scorned if the other Swans heard”

And who will take pity in his heart,
And who will feed a starving Sparrow?
“Not I,” said the Golden Wheat
“I would if I could, but I cannot, I know
I need all my grain to prosper and grow”

Who will love a little Sparrow?
Will no one write her eulogy?
“I will, “ said the Earth
“For all I’ve created returns unto me
From dust were ye made and dust ye shall be”

Being Mary's friend has been a gift and privilege.

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard" - winnie the pooh

God Speed Mary until we meet again.

xo

The Sparrow Story

Warning:  this post is long and contains many photos - I hope you like my story, it's almost 20 years in the making.

It all started with a fat quarter pack that I picked up in 1996.  It was at the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show and I was with my dear friend, Mary B.  We were traveling and quilting together quite a bit at that time.  I'm not sure how she'll feel about these photos from 2009, but I like them.

Here are the blocks I made with the FQs after adding in some other fabrics.

There is an odd assortment, like this one with spiders.  Many have that weird gold embossing on them.

I was not sure what to do with the borders.  I had only been quilting about 5 years, but I had attended a Gwen Marston retreat, so I was already thinking about how to create my own personal quilts.

While driving along one day listening to my favorite musician, Paul Simon, I heard the song "Sparrow".  My mother, Cathy, had died in 1990 and was still grieving the loss of her.  The words spoke to me and I decided to design the borders based on the song.  (sorry the lighting isn't great on this)

I also like the Biblical references to the sparrow such as
Psalm 84:3
"Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine alters, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God"
and
Psalm 102:7
"I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the house top"

I've included the lyrics and psalm 84 on the back with the label.

I like the sparrow, she is humble and simple.  I wish I was more that way.

I researched the lettering in the library.  I sat on the floor and combed over many calligraphy and alphabet books.  This is in the days before "fonts" on my computer.  I settled on an 16th century Italian script alphabet.

I entered this quilt into the AQS show in Paducah and to my utter delight and surprise it was juried into the show in 1998.

I included the sparrow in a challenge for the Gwen Retreat the following year and my great friend, Mary, suggested that I include the sparrow in my quilts as a personal icon.  And since I do everything Mary says, I have included it in many (not all) of my quilts.

Here are the some of the quilts where I have appliqued them:

This is on the back with a label.

I can't wait to see this one settled in her quilted nest.

Here are some that are quilted-

This one is in a coffin in my Moby Dick quilt - it's Queque's coffin.  That quilt is another story...

Thank you to everyone that expressed their interest in this story, I hope you enjoyed it!

I'd also like to say a special thanks to coco, who watched all the quilt pulling and photography to make this post possible.  Good Pup!