Quilted Memories

Change, albeit unstoppable, is my nemesis.  This last week of school has been a very difficult week.  For the last three years I have submerged myself in the friendships, the love, the magic that has been John Thomas Elementary.   And Friday, all of that came to an end.  I was thinking about all that has happened over the last three years, and how many wonderful friendships and memories have been made.  Some of those memories I tried to preserve in quilts.  The Lawsonland quilt and the Thomas T-Shirt quilt, both of which turned out to be wonderful treasures. 

I started thinking about how many memories there are in quilts.  Almost everyone has a special memory attached to that special quilt Great-Grandma-so-and-so made.  A quilt they received as a wedding gift.  A quilt they remember sleeping under as a child.   What is is about that warm and snuggly fabric that attaches so strongly to our memories?  Some quilts are worn and ragged from years of love and use.  Some quilts are old, yet pristine, specially preserved over the years.  But no matter the condition, they hold memories.  Hundreds of moments captured in time.

It reminded me of a quilt I made in 2007, just a few months after Hunter was born.  I wanted to capture a bit of time (a year, actually) into fabric.  12 blocks, 1 for every month of the year.

It ended up being a much larger project than I anticipated, because I ended up making 4 of these.  One for each Grandma, one for Aunt Jenn, and one for Great-Grandma.  And then I decided they had to be done in time to give all 4 of them as Christmas gifts.  Each block represents a month with hand prints or foot prints, and is embellished.  Yes, I am that crazy.  No, I will not ever do that again!!!
 

 

 I ended up not having time to have all the actual quilting done, so I gave them quilt tops, the backing and binding, and let the family quilt them or have them quilted as they desired.  One day the boys will inherit these, and when they do, I hope they will give their families the opportunity attach loving memories to their own childhood hand prints.

Mission Completion!

I remember hearing those words when the kids were in their "Little Einsteins" phase...  at the end of the episode, once the job had been finished, Leo would always shout "Mission completion!"   That was how I felt when I finished the quilt I have been working on for my son's teacher.   

Much more than a teacher, she is an encourager, a true educator, a lover of books and words, a photographer, a ruby red birthday kisser, a very passionate woman who pours countless hours of love and hard work into my child and 19 others for 8 hours a day every day.   I have spent many hours in her classroom this school year, and I have seen the hand of God in her room.  I have watched the transformation of those kids as they mature through the year.  I have seen the light of joy in their eyes as they finally "get it" after struggling with a difficult concept.  I have seen her tediously, meticulously, and lovingly go over and over and over something until they grasp that concept. I have seen the explosion of excitement as kids achieve the next level of rocket math.  (Literally, it is an explosion I tell you.  Jumping, screaming, the whole bit!)  I have witnessed her patiently listen and mediate those difficult moments between kids that often come in second grade.  I have seen her comfort a hurting child, and I have seen her be Jesus with skin on.  I have seen her call a kid's bluff, and make them own up to it.  I have watched as she draws the budding scientist  out of 20 seven and eight year olds.  I have watched her dance around the room singing silly songs at the top of her lungs, and teach spelling words like a high school cheerleader (complete with megaphone and pom-poms). When it is time to have fun, she is loud, she is crazy, and she knows how to have big time fun.  When it is time to work, she is an incredibly hard worker, and expects her kids to do the same.  But even more than all of that, she is a friend. She is my friend.  And I am blessed.

 


I wanted to do something extra special for her.  Something as special as she is.  A "teacher appreciation week" gift, "end of the year" gift, "thank you for being you" kind of gift. 






I know she loves photography and quilts, and I know she loves her students, and I know she loves her color scheme in her classroom. So I combined the things I know she loves, and made her a quilt.  This quilt:

She loved it, the kids loved it, I loved it.
I loved seeing her enjoy it, watching all
 the kids as they pointed out photos of
themselves, and yelled
"OH, I remember when we...."  


over 850 individual quilt pieces
    175 days of school
    42 photos
    20 kids
+ 1 awesome teacher
------------------------------------
Lawsonland 2011-2012...  priceless.