Sunday, November 23, 2008

BLUE MONDAY

Sally at Smiling Sal is once again hosting Blue Monday. There is a whole lot of blue going on! Check out her blog to see a list of the participants.


For Blue Monday this week, I thought I would share with you a blue quilt. In the late 1960s, we lived in Montana for five years. During that time, after being married for 10 years, we had our first child. I had never been around children very much and now found myself far away from family with a newborn. The winters where we lived were horrendous, so I was stuck at home most of the time. Boy, did I need a support group!! I joined a home extension club (remember those?) where the emphasis was on child rearing and the domestic arts. I found a wonderful group of young mothers that became supportive friends.



When we moved back to Colorado in 1971, these friends gave to me a stack of quilt squares with their signatures embroidered on them. I treasured these signatures, but I couldn't quite figure out what kind of quilt to make as the blocks were all different sizes and colors. Thirty years went by and I moved my little pile of signatures from house to house.



Finally in 2002, I put them into this quilt using a variation of the Court House Steps pattern.






I called the quilt, "Another Time, Another Place", and included it in a book I wrote about signature quilts.



Here is a close-up of one of the blocks.





Unfortunately, I have lost track of all of these women that took me into their group and supported me during a lonely period. I haven't forgotten them or their friendship, though!



Thanks for stopping by,


Sally

21 comments:

Rechelle ~Walnuthaven Cottage~ said...

Ooo, it's beautiful!

bj said...

oh what a lovely quilt and your sweet story is precious. thanks so much for sharing...

Bo said...

What a treasure you have in that beautiful quilt...a GREAT Blue Monday post! Thanks for sharing...
;-) Bo

SmilingSally said...

What a beautiful idea; this is truly a memory piece. What a shame you've lost touch, but that's life. Happy Blue Monday!

The Quintessential Magpie said...

This is SO special! Thank you for sharing. Loved your quilt and the story. It's nice to have this as a reminder to carry them with you in your heart always, and if you ever see them again, the love is still there. I feel that way with friends who are true friends of the heart even if we've lost touch.

Thanks for sharing.

XO,

Sheila :-)

Anonymous said...

Morning, Sally and what a beautiful memory quilt!! It is so lovely! We did someting similar to this for our pastor and his wife one Christmas. We secretly asked all the ladies of the church to buy a square about $5. Mother and me bought the fabric and I took all their signatures and embroidered them on squares. I even embroidered a picture of the church in the center. They were so suprised!
Thank you so much for the birthday wishes!
have a blessed Thanksgiving and
Be a sweetie
Shelia;)

Anonymous said...

I really do admire your "work of art". How you carried around those patches until they finally hatched into a memorable quilt. Happy Thanksgiving.

Carrie said...

Your quilt is a wonderful way to remember those friends...and it was so special of them to embroider the strips as a going-away gift.

Katie said...

What a touching story, and I am so delighted you finally got to see them in quilt-form! Happy Blue Monday!

Anonymous said...

What a treasure! I wish there were more groups like that now.

Knitty said...

What a wonderful quilt, both in appearance and in the story behind its making.

Coloradolady said...

Beautiful quilt. It is just wonderful, the blues are very pretty.

Sweetie said...

Such a beautiful quilt and a wonderful remembrance. Happy Blue Monday.
Sweetie

Dirkjogt said...

Very special qiult, nice story

Carrie said...

Just stopping by to let you know about the holiday giveaway on my nativity blog.

Here’s the link:
http://carolanativitygallery.blogspot.com/2008/11/holiday-giveaway.html
Carrie

nikkicrumpet said...

That has to be one of the most precious quilts I've ever seen! I love how you worked the signatures into the pattern. What a special keepsake that must be! BRILLIANT!

onlymehere said...

I love the sentiment behind this quilt and it turned out beautiful!

Lynne (lynnesgiftsfromtheheart) said...

What a beautiful quilt..your workman ship is amazing.. I'm wondering where in Montana you lived. I had an Aunt that lived in Bozeman for many years..thanks so much for swinging by..I always love to see your name..
~lynne~

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

Sally your quilts are just beautiful girl...oh the work you put into those just shows..hope you had a great Blue Monday...hugs and smiles Gloria

Shannon said...

What a beautiful quilt and story. What memories must be woven into that fabric.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sally! Thanks for the visit!! Hope all is going well with you today!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)