Fabric speaks

Yesterday I went to the store for batting, that was all, no list because it was all I needed. I made a mistake, rather than making a direct route to the batting I meandered in the aisles- Dangerous. Many red signs told of sales and got my mind wandering of who the fabric spoke of. Eventually it was the fish and deer fabric that caught my eye.

A neighbor is away. He is deployed to Iraq for a season while his fishing boat waits for him, his duck decoys lay gathering dust and his salt lick draws the neighborhood deer without his ability to watch and enjoy. In December I blessed his son with a quilt- another distracted trip in where the fabric screamed "JOHN". This time it yelled "Rob", so I sucuumed and left with several quarter yards.

The afternoon held many events but eventually quilting became one of them. I found several fabrics in my stash to co-ordinate and the cutting began. My goal was a lap quilt. Eventually it appears that it will be a man's size lap quilt as it is between lap and twin size. The squares are all pieced and the layout is complete. Now on to stitching them together and then figuring out what pattern to quilt it all together with. The front will be busy yet the back I expect will be plain so I will be thinking of the backside as I quilt. Perhaps pictures his kids do for me and put upon the quilt?? I am liking that- as the whole point of the quilt is to remind him of his passions and life and the ones who support him at home. He has many who are missing his smile and funny nature. One little guy especially misses tool time with Dad- the quilt has blocks to cover that as well.

What fun it is to think of someone and find the fabric that reflects them is available to create a blessing for them. To be able to send a bit of home to a place that feels not at all like home. To find that the fabric that screamed from the bolt was just calling me to another adventure in care to another soul.

And for the record.. my mini quilt swap offernig went in the mail last week! And my BOM from 2009 is waiting for the last of the applique to be stitched down, two rows of blocks to be attached and the top is done! I splerged on rolled batting for this special quilt and hope to start quilting it before the month is up! So though I have been a bit distracted I am still moving forward.

Next on my list to start-

Quilt for my bear- so he can have his own snugli throw for the L-room.
Quilt for my girl- my goal is a twin or double sized for her bed and beyond.