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biwako_of_abi

Small quilt for sick friend

biwako_of_abi
17 years ago

While I was trying to collect family pictures to make my cousin with Alzheimer's disease a quilt, we got word that a dear friend in Japan with Parkinson's disease is rapidly going downhill, in pain all the time, and not able to move easily; so I changed gears and made a quilt for her in a color combination she had expressed a preference for years ago. Something went wrong in the piecing and I ended up having to sacrifice the points in some of the block, which goes very much against the grain. Maybe I was too much in a hurry, or maybe it was the wobbly presserfoot on my old, cheap Kenmore. Anyway, in hopes of a better job next time, I bought a presserfoot today that is supposed to make a perfect 1/4" seam.

As you can see, this is just the top. Not sure yet whether I will quilt it by hand or machine, but I am going to bind it very simply in either lavender or purple.

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Comments (8)

  • carlene
    17 years ago

    Wonderful quilt for someone with a
    terrible terrible disease!

  • laurainsdca
    17 years ago

    It looks great!

    I am not seeing the missing points, BTW. (And I looked for them.) I think it's always good to strive for those perfect points, and I know I can be pretty compulsive about trying to get them in my own work, but I've also come to realize that "the minds eye" really fills in any blanks with a pattern. (I guess we just see what we want to see!)

    So sorry to hear about your friend -- the quilt looks gorgeous and I'm sure it will be cherished. I like that color combo too.

  • fran1523
    17 years ago

    It's none of my business but perhaps if your friend is really sick, she would rather have the quilt sooner rather than later. I would machine quilt it and not worry about the less than perfect points, although I couldn't find them. Machine quilted, she'll have it faster and probably never even know it's less than perfect. It's lovely by the way.

  • biwako_of_abi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for the nice comments. Yes, Fran, I began to see it that way, so I am machine quilting it and not picking out stitches when the lines are slightly off, either! If I wait too long, she might not be around long enough to enjoy it. DH says we can send it by airmail, too. I now have about half of it quilted. My back is protesting, but somehow every day I get up feeling all right.
    LOL You kind folks can see the less than perfect points in the upper left and upper right blocks, to name two. Maybe the picture being a bit fuzzy from adjusting the size has helped obscure its faults.
    I found out too late that the presser foot I thought was making 1/4" seams was really making slightly wider ones. Too late, I bought a 1/4" seam presser foot at JoAnn's, but on my machine, it is too far to the left and the needle hits it, so I'll have to make do with the old one.

  • quiltdiva
    17 years ago

    That's such a pretty quilt. As stated, your friend isn't going to notice any mistakes but she's going to look at that quilt with love from a very good friend that cares. I'm sure she'll get much comfort from it.
    Kay

  • biwako_of_abi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    I forgot to post when my friend got the quilt. We haven't been hearing from her daughter and husband (who--by general family consensus--are her only caretakers) the way we used to, and we are afraid they are probably depleted of energy by now and depressed. But I got a precious fax with just the word "Thanks," in Japanese, her name, and the date on it. The writing was very shaky.

  • maggie_sue
    17 years ago

    How nice, that must have warmed your heart!!! What a nice gift!!

  • hoerlel
    17 years ago

    That is such a special quilt and beautiful as well. Your friend will surely love and cherish it and know how much you care for her. Thanks for sharing!

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