the quilt

After Hurricane Sandy hit, Anthony + I donated lots of things for the families hit hardest at the shore. One of the things that I convinced A to donate was his “prized” tiger blanket (picture something similar to this). I hated it from the moment he brought it home from work in college. Apparently how I convinced him to part with it was offering to make him a blanket. Over a year later and Anthony finally brought it up again (after forgetting completely about my promise!!!). After telling me “exactly” what he wanted – a thick, long, warm blanket, I was set to create something for him. But after doing lots of research, what he was describing was nearly impossible! Luck would have it, at the B&B we stayed at in Lancaster, there was a white handmade quilt that we used to keep warm. It was exactly what Anthony wanted, though not thick in the sense that he kept describing, he wanted something with weight/heaviness. I really wanted to just slip it into the car on the way out as it was perfect, but refrained from doing so.

I’d expressed all of these concerns to my mom for weeks (as she’s a seamstress herself) to get her opinions. When we returned home from PA, I told her all about this quilt. Then she mentioned how she has a quilt that her grandmother made that’s been in the closet for many years without use and she’d send it along. It needed a few runs through the wash to get the smell out but it’s perfection! Not only does it fit the bill of being heavy, long, and warm, it also comes as a family heirloom that’s at least 100 years old. It now resides on the back of our couch awaiting the evenings when we snuggle on the sofa together for a few moments.

One day not long after we received the quilt, Anthony told me I no longer had to make a quilt for us. While the pressure is off, I do have a quilt that’s in the makings for a while now that will be finished one day. I’d love to be able to pass down to future generations a quilt that I made! One day I tell myself.