Gifted Quilt

I don't come from a crafting family. My parents and siblings were/are accountants, MBAs, and educators with artistic talents in dancing and singing. None of us grew up sewing clothes, making origami or homemade cards, or even playing instruments. It's only since I met my now-husband (almost fifteen years ago when we were basically still kids) that I became interested in making things with my hands. Right after we married, a friend taught both of us the basics of knitting. I kept making the same easy and boring pattern -- a little triangle shawl -- while he figured out how to make the most incredibly-complicated patterns. When he found the pattern he wanted, a beautiful and very large Irish shawl, he set about making it, spending almost a year knitting and knitting and knitting it until it was finished. He gave that piece of art to his mother.

This made a lot of sense because she's the reason for his crafting heart. He was a Boy Scout, built model and RC airplanes, went to summer crafting programs, grew up with a piano in the house (he took lessons, and two of his older brothers excelled at piano), played the trombone, and entered adulthood with a general and constant desire to learn new things to do and make with his hands --  mostly because of his mom. Over the years I've known him, he has taken up not just knitting, but also origami and wood-working, and he has made some amazing things. He made me a beautiful secret box on my birthday a couple of years ago that I will have to show off here one day; it has a tiny teal-colored rock that he shaped into a heart and set into the wood. I'll also find a photo of that shawl he made for his mother.

His mom grew up poor, so she had to learn how to sew her own clothes. When she retired from teaching, she took on quilting and has since made dozens and dozens of fantastic quilts every year. We have at least seven or eight of her quilts, some of them just "practice" or random patterns she decided to try out. She makes a quilt for each new baby in her extended family. This past weekend, she gave us a new quilt as a housewarming gift, a bedspread. Late last year, after I chose the pattern I liked, she and I picked out the materials together, and the final product turned out beautifully.

Here are some details of the pattern:

I swear, these pictures don't do it justice. The maroons and purples are vibrant against the greens and pinks, and they give the classic pattern an edge that I love. Both soothing and energizing at the same time. I also love the individual patterns of the different fabrics; the paisley one is my favorite. My husband remarked that he didn't realize how much he missed colors in our bedroom until we replaced our old comforter with the new bedspread. I was thinking exactly the same thing. Since we moved in just a few months ago, we haven't done anything with our bedroom. But now I'm totally inspired to fill the walls with complementary art pieces!

xo, Gladys

P.S. We woke up to find snow covering the backyard and melting from the roof. I guess winter came to southern California overnight. It did rain a bit yesterday, but now it's lovely this afternoon, super bright and sunny with a crisp cool breeze. I don't think California knows what winter means.