The Patchwork of Our Lives

Sometimes ideas take a while to come to fruition and so it was with a gift for my daughter that came to me as I was folding her gazillion t -shirts while I helped her unpack into her new home. All those t- shirts bonded her to her past which also made saying goodbye to them virtually impossible.  They took up a good 2 shelves of closet space. There was no way that she could ever wear them all. What to do, what to do?

Then I remembered hearing about people making t-shirt quilts and thought this would be one way for her to keep these  'cloth'  memories but to give them a new purpose... So she chose her favorite top 25 and they all got a new life as they were quilted into a queen size comforter the colors of her new home.

My intention was to give it to her in person at a family get together last month but that reunion didn't come to be so the quilt had to be entrusted to the mail. I was definitely a Nervous Nelly if it'd arrive even with insurance. AND how would I replace the t-shirts and the labor if it lost its way?

Well, it  did arrive and I felt really good to be able to witness its unveiling via SKYPE as it was opened and spread out across her living room over a 1000 miles away.




There amidst the design were memories of trips, camps, school years and her and her brother's bat/bar mitzvahs and post school adventures.

Included was a patch with her birthdate ... yes, this is a very special year for my first born-








AND 2 patches of

  all the places that she has lived...





Then she disappeared from the screen as she was on the floor  exploring the patches of her life and
all of a sudden she reappeared enveloped within the comforter ... What else could I do? I had to run get my camera to take a picture of my laptop screen...

 There before my eyes was a scene of long ago when I used to swaddle her as a baby... but now just a little older. Where did 30 years go?

May this labor of love keepsake give her 'comfort' and last a long, long time. For as the hand stitched patch in the middle of quilt says as we repeated many times over the years with each other :

Sending love from the End of the Rainbow Valley....