A reality quilt...

Pieces Of The Past.......reality X's 2. I'm not sure why I've waited so long to share this quilt with you. The block pattern is a simple one, Four Patch
variation, from the book Pieces Of the Past by Nancy Martin. Lots of history and traditional quilts in that book, and the second one, Threads Of Time. The 2nd one has more applique.
The reality is, this quilt, which I call "Crossing Over" is my divorce quilt. All the pieces are scrap. The scope of the time they cover is huge. I cut all of them by hand, with a scissor, after tracing around the template on small scraps. I worked in the evening, alone at the shop(on the kitchen table..*S*) for a great deal of 1988-89. I should have kept going, but I was tired of it, so it's not quite double bed size...even with two borders. The nice thing about marching to your own "drummer" is that you can call it finished when ever you want. Then I began to quilt it. I had been married to him for almost 30 years at that point, and he told me the summer of 1988, he didn't want to be married anymore. But....he didn't leave. And I had no intentions of leaving and making it
easier for him. I will say, on my behalf, the quilting is really good! *VBS* I look at it now, almost 20 years later, and I am proud of my hand quilting. I wish I could still quilt like that, but I can't. So I do what I can do. All of the large triangles are quilted inside 1/4". I ran the diagonal down the centers of the small squares, but only the one direction, following the barn raising look. The borders are quilted as one, in clamshells. It's bound with the same fabric as the inner border.
I called it Crossing Over, because each evening after supper, I walked across the side yard from where we lived, to the house that was my quilt shop. More "stuff" got worked out while I pressed scraps, traced, cut and sewed, than in the actual "crossing over"...but the title seemed to fit.
One divorce quilt wasn't enough, or so it seemed. It took from 1988 til 1994 for him to actually "leave" the marriage, family and job in that small village. The 2nd quilt is still only a top and was pieced in the "anger" stage of the separation. It's a nice top. It's the red and white picket fence that I've shown when I first began blogging. I think I will send it out for machine quilting. The 3rd one is also a top, but not even a finished top. I looked it over last month, and decided to donate it to Linda J's Bama Belles, and see what they could turn it into. That seemed appropiate 12 years later....LOL
Probably you are wondering, do I mind being divorced at 56? Well, it's not what I thought was going to happen to my life. But it's not all bad. A period of adjustment was needed, but that's normal. I'm happy and content with my life. My golden retriever, Dakota filled the void for almost 10 years until his death in 2004. That spot stayed empty and lonely for 2 years, but Ebby is doing an excellent job of becoming my companion....and I love it