Worth It!

When I make a quilt for somebody specific, and the appreciation they exhibit upon receipt is near wordless, it makes it so worth all the time and effort. This is why I love what I do.

Not everybody has artistic talents and I rank right up there in this particular category. Drawing stick people is even difficult for me at times. But with all the available resources we have and with a little practice (because being good at something the first time is called a fluke), being creative in textiles is where I'm able to finally express the artist hidden in me for all these years.

My dad loved his portrait quilt.

Dad

I wanted to make him something special for Father's Day and his birthday; both within a few weeks of each other this year. This is a photo of him when he was much younger while up in Colorado skiing. He has lived and traveled abroad but he felt his roots were always here in Michigan despite having being born in East Berlin, Germany and living there during his formative years.

We got to spend the afternoon with dad yesterday. Walking, talking, catching up, going out to eat, shopping, taking pics, and enjoying an absolutely beautiful early summer day. When he returned home, he was able to unroll his quilt and take a good hard look at it. An almost instant email ensued with his thanks and gratitude.

Moving along...

I did a little long-arming yesterday before we left for Lansing to meet up with everybody. Today I want to make Lily a little mat to put her water and food dishes on. The old rug we were using before is now for outside use; the rug backing had disintegrated and she needs a replacement. Currently, while the new floor is being laid, she has her stuff in the small bathroom and she doesn't seem to care for this. 

I was originally thinking I would grab some of my left over Spartan and MSU fabrics for the project, but as I'm blogging, I think, instead, I'll head more towards the color scheme in the kitchen with the dark orange/light blue/black and tan theme we have going on in there. Hmm...more creativity!