Friday, April 12, 2013

Friday Finish: Nine Years Ago

Before blogging it didn't occur to me to photograph the quilts I made.  Since then when the opportunity presented itself, I have tried to document the quilts I made prior to 2009.  Other than charity quilts, only two quilts remain unphotographed...until today....now there is just one (hint, hint Michelle).

One of my first quilts made
Several days ago I was given back this quilt to repair the label.   I made this quilt nine years ago for my beautiful mother-in-law's 65th birthday.  It was one of the first quilts I made (one of three rail-fence quilts made as gifts), and I haven't seen it in at least six years.

65th birthday quilt
It is bittersweet that I share these quilt pictures with you today, as today happens to be the sixth year anniversary of my mother-in-law's (Mami) passing.  She is missed every single day by her family.  Mami was a gentle, sweet soul who treated me like a daughter.  (She often referred to me affectionately as her blonde-haired daughter when introducing me to her friends.)  I am blessed to have known her, and I regret not telling her more often how much I love her and how wonderful she is.  You can never say those words too much, can you?

well loved and used
This is the one and only quilt I made for her and my quilting skills were definitely not up to par back then.  However, I know she loved and used this quilt because it is super soft and has more than one stain!  She kept it on her bedroom recliner and snuggled underneath when watching TV.

unraveled stitches
I only have this quilt long enough to reattach the label and restitch a line of quilting that came loose.  I have to give it up tomorrow (unless maybe my father-in-law doesn't mention it and neither do I!), but I took this opportunity to take a few pictures while it is in my possession.

partial label
The original label is quite large with three family photographs along with birthday sentiments.  This isn't the best picture, but I want to give you a glimpse of Mami's gorgeous smile.

Mami loved the color blue
I am not linking up with Amanda's finish it Friday since this is not a recent finish, but click on the link to see some wonderful finishes.

Have a wonderful Friday!  Thanks for stopping by,

15 comments:

  1. So nice to see a pretty quilt loved and used. I'm glad you were able to document one of your first finishes.

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    1. Aww, what a great label and sweet sentiments. Some people we never stop missing, no matter how much time passes. Thanks for sharing this! Is the baby Julio?

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  2. What a beautiful woman. I'm so glad that you were able to photograph the quilt. It is fun to see some of the original quilts that people did.

    Hope you and your family are doing well.

    Hugs from Alabama.

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  3. So glad you got to take photos of the quilt. It is wonderful!

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  4. What a wonderful opportunity to remember someone that was that special. Charish those precious memories!

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  5. You did great on your first quilt! I don't think I would show you mine ; )

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  6. That is one special quilt Rene! Mami's smile really lights up her whole beautiful face! I made a similar quilt for my own mother ( who has been gone 7 years) and I know she used it for her Nana Naps.

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  7. Rene', what a wonderful posting. It is amazing that you posted this picture of "Mami". We had dinner with friends last night and I was telling them about Julio's mom and what a gracious lady she was. She did love you. I am so thankful that I got to know and love her.

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  8. What a sweet story. Most of the time I think mothers-in-law get such a bad rap. It was nice to read this today.

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  9. Aww! Makes me sad! She had THE best smile! I do miss her! But so glad her memory lives on!

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  10. What a lovely testament to one of your first quilts.......well loved and used!

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  11. It didn't occur to me to snap photos of my quilts until I started blogging either… There is only one that I would really like to get a picture of but it's now overseas and the owner is impervious to nagging. :-)

    This one is obviously special - thank you for sharing it!

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  12. Thanks for sharing this beautiful, and full of memories, quilt with us! She has such a happy smile and I love that you know how much she used the quilt!

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  13. Rene--what a wonderful story and a wonderful quilt. I love that you made her a quilt that she loved and used, and that now is going to keep your FIL warm too. This was wonderful.

    I spent the better part of a summer gathering up photos for my Quilt Journal, and I have to say it's been very rewarding to be able to pull that out and have a record of all the quilts I've made. I've only lost one--I made it for a shop and it sold before I ever got a photo--but it took me a LONG time to gather them all up. You're lucky to be able to get another photo of a long-ago quilt.

    And yes, she has a wonderful smile.

    :) Elizabeth E.

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  14. That is just lovely, Rene'. Sorry to hear about Mami, but I'm glad you have so many happy memories. Blonde haired daughter. So cute.

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