Home For the Holidays–Quilts at Christmas, by Beverly Hicks Burch
I started quilting in 1986. Quilting had been an elusive goal up until then. One fostered by a long ago viewed quilt my great-grandmother Rebecca Shafer McGee of Lawrence County, Tennessee had made. I guess you could say quilting was part of my heritage.
So one day in 1986 I sat down and decided to make a quilt. I knew very little about quilting and almost as little about sewing, although I had taken home ec in junior high and wasn’t a total stranger to a sewing machine.
That first project was a pitiful little wall hanging I was very proud of at the time. I still hang on to that little wall hanging for various reasons. The two main reasons: sentimental value and to show me where I started and where I came from and where I am now. It’s my personal yardstick. I also use it to encourage beginning quilters when they get discouraged and utter those words we all utter at one time or another, “I can never do this. My work will never look like your.”
“Oh yeah? Well, take a look at this…”
One thing I went absolutely gaga over when I started quilting was Christmas quilts. And, I have the quilts to prove it 
I actually have a few more in various stages of completion (UFOs as we quilters call them) that hopefully will be finished by a Christmastime in the future soon.
Over the years I have made many and I pull them out during the holidays and used them all over the house. It’s so much fun to see these old friends again. It’s like having special Christmas visitors. This year was no exception and was actually the first time in a few years I was able to pull some of these “friends” out.
So, here’s Home For the Holidays – Quilts at Christmas…
Chinese Mandarin Garden – this is a sampler quilt and the result of a “block of the month” class I taught several years ago. Everyone would have a Christmas quilt when finished. Fabric choices were left up to the individual.
Grandmother’s Fan – the fan blades are pieced together then the fan is appliqued to the background fabric and then the fan corner piece (green) is appliqued last
Monkey Wrench – this block combines piecing and hand applique
Shamrock – this is a hand applique block
Honey Bee – this block combines piecing and hand applique
Grandmother’s Flower Garden – this block was English paper pieced then appliqued onto the background.
I don’t recall the name of this block, but I think it was called Single Wedding Ring. It is a pieced block.
Ohio Star – pieced block
Sun Bonnet Sue (some people also call this block the Little Dutch Girl) – this block is hand appliqued using the freezer paper applique method and appliqued to the background square.
Basket Block – combines piecing and hand applique
Maple Leaf – combines piecing and hand applique
Dresden Plate – the blades of the plate are pieced together, then appliqued to the background square. The center of the plate is hand appliqued last.
What Christmas block is complete without and Angel block? The block combines piecing and applique.
Border and quilting detail for Chinese Mandarin Garden
Oh, Christmas Tree – the tree is strip pieced. I hand quilted the wall hanging with metallic gold thread.
Rudolph – pieced wall hanging, and yes, he has two eyes, he’s just winking
Christmas Tree Pillow – pieced and folded method
Visions of Sugar Plums wall hanging – pieced using the kaleidoscope pattern
Visions of Sugar Plums – Blocks A & B
Visions of Sugar Plums – border detail
Christmas Poinsettia – hand applique and hand quilted with gold metallic thread
Poinsettia detail
Poinsettia leaves detail
Christmas Poinsettia quilting detail
© 2011 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved
Maverick I: To New Mexico, by Beverly Hicks Burch
Maverick I – To New Mexico
By Beverly Hicks Burch
I had the ultimate UFO, which in quilter speak is “UnFinished Object”. And, if truth be known, I have some sister UFOs lurking on a shelf waiting patiently for their completion.
It all started with this quilt Maverick I: To New Mexico, which has come to symbolize a lot in my life…rebirth, rising from the ashes, moving forward, hope and so much more. But, first a little background…
Several years ago, and I do mean several…we’re talking 10+ years ago I began this quilt as a extension of my creative desire to go beyond what I had been doing in my work. This quilt presented the perfect opportunity.
At the time there was a quilt group meeting on a routine basis in my home. Also, at that time a local quilt shop had started a block of the month (BOM) quilt and had the kits for purchase each month. Several of the quilters in the group wanted to start the BOM but as beginners wanted to work on the blocks at our meetings. Although the fabric in the kits was pretty and traditional it wasn’t quite what I was hankering to work with at the time. So a convergence of ideas merged into a plan.
We would have block making sessions at my house for whoever wanted to make their blocks, and I would make my block using the patterns and the fabric of my choice from my stash. It would also be a good teaching tool to show how a simple thing like fabric change and color value can totally change the look of a block/quilt.
A BOM quilt will basically be a sampler quilt. A sampler quilt is a quilt in which every block is different. There are different types of samplers and I’ve always thought of them as a very traditional type of quilt. Many times sampler quilts were made out of blocks that quilters had made as “samples” or experiments and then gathered together in one project to relieve the guilty conscience of the maker…I mean really, who wants all those orphan blocks laying around, right?
Later, the sampler quilt as a style or type of quilt came into its own and quilters actually began to make them on purpose. The only issue with a sampler is they could be repetitive and tend to all look alike with the only variation being what blocks were used to create the top and maybe a variation of sashing.
My very first big quilt was a sampler quilt. It was a good learning experience because each block was a different design which gave me the opportunity to experience different piecing designs and even some appliqué experience. I set the quilt with traditional sashing and corner posts. When I say big, I mean big. Each block was 12 inches and when finished the quilt easily covers the surface of a king size bed.
So my challenge to myself for this project was: to not only make my sampler different from the rest of the BOM quilts everyone in the group was making, but to make it a sampler with a look that was unique. To accomplish this I first used a “non-traditional” color scheme. I opted for a bold dark blue/green or teal color, a fuchsia, a multi-color print that combined those colors and more set off with metallic gold and all these contrasted with a stark white tone on tone.
There were also two basket blocks that I repurposed and redesigned. Had I used them the way they were they would have been tilted on their side in the quilt, in other words, a turned over basket. So I dusted off high school geometry and redrafted the basket blocks so they were “on point” and upright.
Block #1 – Basket Block redrafted
Block #12 – Basket Block redrafted
Then, I designed sashing and corner posts that would create stars at the corner of each block.
Corner Posts and Sashing Ends that form Stars
Sashing Detail
I would also use a striped fabric for the border and miter the corners.
Striped Mitered Border Fabric
Next, I made my quilt “sandwich” (top, batting and backing) and began the hand quilting process.
And, it was there the process hit a roadblock and fell into a quagmire of malaise. You see when I was about to the one-third or half way point Gomez the ex decided to abandon 27 years of marriage for his new playmate, Morticia, a fellow co-worker. (I use those names to protect the guilty as sin and also because those were the “code” names and pet names they used for each other I found buried in the cookies and temp files of our computer. I must say the names are quite fitting because like their Addams Family counterparts, Morticia towers over Gomez a good 2 inches or so.)
So, going through a tough divorce has a way of cutting off the ol’ creative juices. The mind tends to be distracted by other things…like how the heck to survive…
But, down the road after healing began to happen, something wonderful and renewing happened…I met my muse. Yes, it was Tall & Handsome. Although he was still half a country away, we were still getting to know each other via email, instant messenger and phone calls.
As we got to know each other he found out about my creative pursuits and encouraged me to venture out again pick them back up and continue them. (I had emailed him a few pictures of my quilts and some of my writing.) First, I started writing again. Then, the hardest thing for me to restart came next and that was my beloved quilting. But, I did it. I picked up my sampler and started quilting, each stitch encouraged and inspired by my T & H.
It took a while to finish. I started a job. Had some health crisis and yes, T & H and I got married by the time I had the quilting finished and the binding on.
It was then I knew what I would name the quilt – Maverick I: To New Mexico in honor of my T & H and his native state. Maverick I because I have started a series of sampler quilts based on the same premise…the same, but different with my own personal twist.
So today, I thought I’d share in detail Maverick I: To New Mexico.
Block #2
Block #3
Block #4
Block #5
Block #6
Block #7
Block #8
Block #9
Block #10
Block #11
Quilting Detail
© 2011 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Embellishment and Mixed Techniques
By Beverly Hicks Burch
Recently I wrote about how my love for appliqué evolved in a post called Birmingham Album Quilt. This quilt was created using a technique called Baltimore Album technique which in many cases uses dimensional techniques like ruching, folding, reverse appliqué, building layers and so on.
But, my love of appliqué didn’t actually start there and of course, it didn’t end with that quilt. To get to that point I first had to hone some appliqué skills. I soon discovered I was adding an impressive collection of appliqué books to my already burgeoning quilt book library. (Note: I still haven’t quite wrapped my mind around how a quilt book can be translated to an eBook for a Nook or Kindle…even as fond Nook as I am. There just some book you have to have. Quilt books in my humble opinion are just such books.)
One book I added to my library was Applique Designs: My Mother Taught Me To Sew, by Faye Anderson. The minute I saw the book, I knew I would be making some sort of my version…and maybe several versions of the quilt since there are so many block designs in the book. (The blocks are 6 inch blocks.)
My process of making a quilt varies. Sometime I have the book/pattern and find the fabric…sometime I have the fabric and just need to find the pattern that inspires. In this case, I needed to find the fabric…
Now, let me ask you something. Do you remember 1998 and 1999? Looking back it’s hard to believe how innocent our world seemed at the time…and maybe how innocent we seemed. In some cases, I would trade those years for a lot more of that innocence.
The biggest worry at the time seemed to be the impending Y2K doom. Remember that? We actually believed that when Jan. 1, 2000 rolled around our world as we knew it would cease to exist because the computers in the world would crash because they would be unable to read the date Jan. 1, 2000. It was that clicking over from 1999 to 2000 that was going to do the trick.
Our cars would stop working, ATMs would no longer spit out cash at our disposal, cell phone would no longer work, financial markets would crash, Mickey Mouse would die (just kidding!) and any other impending doom you could think of would happen.
People were running out and stockpiling gasoline, food, cash, generators and anything else that would help them bunker down and be one the fittest that survived.
It also happened to be about the time I began finding the fabric for “the” quilt. I gather from here and there…finding some of the last fabric I needed in San Antonio, TX when I went to my son’s basic training graduation from Lackland AFB.
So, I began the quilt in the discombobulated days leading up to Y2K and finished it right at 2000. As a tribute to the times, the name of the quilt was born, From San Antone to Y2K.
This little quilt (a wall hanging) was a new challenge for me. This time I took on mixed techniques and embellishments along with the appliqué. For my first attempt, I was fairly pleased with the outcome.
Each block in 6 inches finished and has hand appliqué, embroidery work and embellishment with beads and sequins. I then hand quilted the top and made my own binding to complete the project.
So, here is From San Antone to Y2k for a close up look:
© 2011 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Birmingham Album Quilt, by Beverly Hicks Burch
When I first started quilting, one of the things I dreaded most was applique. It was like Chinese water torture or fingernails on the chalkboard. I primarily stuck with machine piecing and hand quilting…and believe me it took a while to get use to that hand quilting. But, I discovered something that as guild president I would occasionally share with other members…especially new members who were verging on discouragement…the more you do something the better you get at it, and the better you get at it, the more you like it.
Well, I was soon taking that little pearl of wisdom and applying to yours truly when I got bit by the applique bug. I can’t remember exactly what first lured me into the world of applique, but once I entered the door of Baltimore Album Applique there was no turning back, especially when I attended a lecture by Elly Sienkiewicz, the Queen of Baltimore Album Applique.
It’s a fascinating subject. The original quilts originated in Baltimore, MD in the 1840s and were a unique type of quilt. Generally mostly applique, you could also consider them a sampler quilt because almost every block in the quilt is a different design. In a few instances some blocks might be repeated in the corners. Most of these quilts were signed, but again there are exceptions.
The applique designs were usually elaborate and floral in nature, but as time progressed, so did the designs and it wasn’t unusual to find, ships, baskets, animals and birds appliqued into the story of these quilts. Many of the techniques used created dimensional designs resulting in quilts with wonderful textures. Later the themes became patriotic and some women began to incorporate symbolism from the Masons and the Odd Fellows.
Many are truly works of art, especially when you consider the tools our ancestors had to work with.
So…I had to create my own album quilt…
Fortunately by then I had honed my applique skills…I had discovered “freezer paper applique” and other methods that made applique a whole new ball game. So I was ready to take on some of the dimensional techniques. The result was what I call Birmingham Album Quilt.
The flower is made using a technique called ruching.
© 2011 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved
My Fledgling is Flying, by Beverly Hicks Burch
My Fledgling is Flying!
By Beverly Hicks Burch
This afternoon I was out with Tall & Handsome and we were taking care of some business. I happen to be sitting in a line at the drive-in window of a bank when my cell phone alerted me I had a text message.
Now keep in mind that has been a rare thing of late because the condo we’re staying in at the moment is in a technological black hole. We can’t get a cell phone signal (thanks AT & T) nor is there a functional phone in the condo. We can only reach the outside world by traveling down the road to get a signal, or by using and IM program on the computer. So, when the cell alerted, I knew it had to be somebody…and they had something to tell me.
I picked up my phone and looked at the message, and this is what it said:
“My quilt got accepted!!!”
OMGosh!!!
Do you know how hard it is to do the happy dance in the front seat of a Jeep…without getting arrested? You at least have to do jazz hands!
Why am I so excited? Well, one of my fledglings is flying…and she’s flying high let me tell you.
You see a couple of years ago I began to teach my friend Shari to quilt. She did one top for her son Philip. We spent many hours and evenings at my house having quilt marathons and pizza…and she even learned on one occasion Bev could and would pull out her trusty .38 caliber pea shooter if an unknown person came skulking up to the door at an ungodly, dark time of the evening.
Shari also fell in love with Bernina at my house…and who can blame a gal for that? We talked, laughed and sometimes I would read her my most current blog. Shari thinks I need to put them in a book on tape form 
It’s the Southern accent don’t you know…
Well, over the course of time she noticed the project I was working on (and still am). It was my diary quilt, The BamaSteelMagnolia™ Diaries, a diary quilt based on Mimi Dietrich’s diary quilt concept. Shari fell in love with the idea and decided she wanted to do one for her daddy.
So she began picking out the fabric and the blocks she wanted to use to represent her daddy’s life. A few blocks she designed or adapted herself. Then, I took my EQ6 software and put the quilt together with that so she could see the overall general idea of what her quilt was going to look like.
She made the top, basted it, quilted it and then applied the binding. It was her first finished project. She presented it to her Daddy and he was one more proud Daddy!
About a month or so ago Shari called me one day and said, “Bev I have an outing I’d like us to do. I picked up some literature on it today. (Keep in mind we don’t live in the same state anymore.) In October there’s going to be The Georgia Quilt Show at the Gwinnett Center near Atlanta.”
She also told me she was thinking about entering her daddy’s diary quilt. This is a juried show, so she had to submit an entry form and two photographs for her quilt to be accepted to be hung in the show.
Well, on the 9th she received confirmation she was juried in! And I think I’m excited as she is!
Congratulations Shari! I so proud of you and for you!
I think I see a road trip in our future…
Shari and her Daddy’s Diary Quilt
© 2010 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Island Hopping at Stepping Stones Quilts, by Beverly Hicks Burch
Island Hopping at Stepping Stones Quilts
By Beverly Hicks Burch
If you have been quilting for any length of time you know no matter where you travel one of the things you want to be sure and scope out somewhere new is…local quilt shops! Well, semi new quilter that he is (he’s started quilting almost two years ago) Tall & Handsome is no different than the rest of us quilters.
Today when we got out and about, one of the things he wanted to be sure we visited was the local quilt shop on St. Simons Island. And, even in the subtropical climate of a barrier island, a mountain gal like me will not be dissuaded from having quilting on her mind. I found out there are other like minded souls and yes, you can find a quilt shop on the island.
We had “GPS’ed” the shop in advance the other evening just to make sure we knew where we were going. Let me tell you…my experience with GPS contraptions in general and on this island in particular tells me this…the GPS is not my friend here…it is a deceiver and liar and teller of tall tales…and that’s another story all together, but in a pinch they might get you in the general area you desire (I just hate it when it talks back, too…and that “recalculating” thing…well, it just need to get over that). Just beware of traffic circles…and long dark roads…
So, this afternoon we made our way to Stepping Stones Quilts on St. Simons Island (GA). The shop is located near the airport at 301 Skylane Drive (912-638-7128). We arrived about 30 or 40 minutes before closing time, but found we had ample time to browse in Connie’s friendly and cozy shop.
Connie Vagtborg has filled her shop with over 6,500 bolts of lovely fabric that offers a variety of choices for just about any range of taste. I saw flannels, batiks, traditional cottons, novelty prints and so much more than I could name individually. I was impressed she carried a beautiful batik in 106” width that’s ideal for using as gorgeous quilt backing. I’d never seen a batik in that size. Connie was gracious enough to let us have dibs on some new batiks she had just received that afternoon and hadn’t even had time to put on the floor yet. In case you haven’t noticed it, I’ve been a little batik crazy lately and being on an island certainly feeds that fever.
Of course the shop is a complete “fill you needs” shop and offers everything else from patterns, books, notions, thread, magazines and more. T & H and I discussed taking a fabric dying class at some time in the future.
Out of curiosity I asked Connie was what the “hot” thing in the area at the moment and she said the quilters in her area were doing a lot of appliqué, especially needle turn appliqué.
If you plan on visiting the beautiful St. Simons Island area and you’re a quilter, be sure to put a little extra “pocket” change for souvenirs in your wallet. You’ll want to visit Stepping Stones Quilts and when you do I’m sure you’ll walk out with a few “souvenirs”.
Let me share what I consider my very favorite “souvenir” to buy on a trip…fabric of course! Our latest come from Stepping Stones Quilts…
This is the batik in 106” width
© 2010 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Let the Fun and Games Begin – It’s Finished, by Beverly Hicks Burch
Let the Fun and Games Begin – It’s Finished!
By Beverly Hicks Burch
Back in 2009, almost a year ago to be exact, I wrote about a visit Tall and Handsome and I made to the Asheville Cotton Co. in Asheville, NC. At the time we were contemplating a move to the area and of course we were looking for a place to fill our quilting addiction needs. Let me tell you this place will certainly fill that bill…and then some. I would recommend it for tourists and locals alike.
T & H and I had finished up our first joint project (and his first ever project) called South by Southwest. This project was a fusion of our combined heritages using the Tennessee Waltz pattern to represent my East Tennessee birthplace and southwestern fabrics to represent his New Mexico birthplace. We were both itching for something new. The BamaSteelMagnolia™ Diaries were already in the works, but as you know, any quilter worth her (or his) salt usually has more than one project going on at one time.
At the Asheville Cotton Co. T & H’s eyes light up with the light and passion another quilter certainly recognizes and identifies when he saw the fabric collection by Benartex called “Gotham”. I must admit it was gorgeous and his enthusiasm was contagious. Soon we both had picked out enough fabric for each of us to make wall hangings.
We both followed patterns that were associated with the fabric line, but as par for us, we made changes and adaptations for our personal tastes and visions. He pieced and worked on his solo and I was extremely proud of the end result. Unfortunately, the top got packed in a moving box and has yet to be uncovered. When it is, I will certainly share!
I had my top pieced and ready to quilt a year ago. Since then I’ve made a baby quilt, worked on The BamaSteelMagnolia™ Diaries, moved and am getting ready to move again. But, yes, somewhere in all that frenetic activity called life I did managed to quilt Let the Fun and Games Begin. I brought it with me to the coast and on the last day of August this year put the last stitch in when I finished the binding.
The title is a nod the Pachisi board the finished top reminds me of. T & H was kind enough to lend a hand so I could photograph it. I have one last thing to do when I go home…and of course, that’s to practice what I preach…and make that label…
Let the Fun and Games Begin – finished and binding applied
Center Detail
Corner Detail
Quilting Detail on back
Quilting Detail – up close
Rod Pocket detail
© 2010 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Who Made Me? by Beverly Hicks Burch
Who Made Me?
By Beverly Hicks Burch
If this was the 1960s and I were to ask “Who made me?” I might be rightfully accused of asking a “navel gazing, self introspection” question.
But, placed in proper context, the “Who made me?” question is an important one in the world of quilting.
Years ago I developed a passion for the documentation of quilts. This came about when I received antique family quilts and I wasn’t quite sure who the family quilter had been who had made the precious textiles. They were from my Daddy’s side of the family and his Aunt Eliza was a known seamstress (I was even thrilled one day while doing some family genealogy work to discover she had listed this as her occupation on some early 20th century census records.) We assumed she had been the quilter of these quilts.
Later, I would come upon antique and older quilts in stores and in friend’s homes. Most were what I call orphan quilt…they’re in the family but the “parentage” is questionable. In other words, who made these quilts and what is the story behind the quilt. No one knows for sure. I’m a firm believer each quilt has a “story” that deserves to be told.
As I began to read about Baltimore appliqué quilts I realized that not all quilts from the past when unsigned by the maker. Some of these quilts were definitely signed sealed and delivered so to speak by their makers. Then of course there were the album quilts that chronicled several makers within one quilt.
As a result of my findings, I began years ago to label and document my quilts.
How?
Well, there’s several ways. Of course you can document them by photographing them and keeping a pictorial record. I also keep diaries…one a special “show” diary that keeps a record of each show a particular quilt had been entered in and the pertinent data such as date entered and if a ribbon was awarded.
I also began making labels and attaching to my quilts. I include the following info:
· Name of the maker (me)
· If it’s to be a gift, the name of the recipient
· Date quilt was started and date it was finished
· I sometimes included the location the quilt was made at
· The name of the quilt
· Any personal sentiment, verse, etc.
You can use premade labels or make your own. I’ve even designed labels on my computer, then ironed fabric onto a sheet of freezer paper cut to the size of computer paper. I then run that through the printer, print my label, iron the label to heat set the ink and then whip stitch the label onto the back of my quilt.
Labels can be embroidered by hand (or machine), embellished or done with fine point permanent markers. You can make them in the shape of little envelopes and place your info in there…labels are only limited by your imagination.
But, no matter how you decided to document your quilt, please make the decision to do it for the future generations in your family…they will be very glad you did!
label for Addi’s Ark
Label for South by Southwest
© 2010 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
Upcoming Quilt Shows in Alabama in September & October, 2010
Upcoming Quilt Shows in Alabama in September & October 2010
If you’re going to be in Alabama during the months of September or October there are a couple of quilt shows planned in the area:
1. Gadsden Quilt Guild Quilt at the Falls
Kiwanas Pavilion Noccolula Falls
Gadsden, AL
Sept. 24 – 25, 2010
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Admission is $3.00
The quilt guild supports the local art museum
Quilt entries are welcomed
For information or entry form call Gary or Betsy Baston 256-435-7007
2. The Collinsville Quilt Walk
Fri. Sept. 24 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM and Sat. Sept. 25 10:00 AM – 5:00 AM
The Collinsville Public Library
US Hwy 11
Collinsville, AL
Admission is $10.00
Proceeds go to the Collinsville Public Library
For information call: 256-524-2323 or 256-524-3296
3. Lakeside Quilters Quilt Show
Guntersville Recreation Center
Sunset Dr.
Guntersville, AL
Oct. 15 – 17
Admission is $3.00
For information email: marilynwafler@yahoo.com
4. Blount County Quilters’ Guild Quilt Show
Friday and Saturday Oct. 22 – 23, 2010
Palisades Park, Oneonta, AL
Admission is $5.00
For questions: lhcdw@windstream.net or the guild website
Sugar and Spice, by Beverly Hicks Burch
Sugar and Spice
By Beverly Hicks Burch
There is so much sweetness going around in my family these days it’s a wonder we all haven’t keeled over in insulin comas. Our homes are awash in pinks and the cutest little girlie girl stuff you’ve ever seen in your life.
Have we gone mad? Is there some kind of sickness afflicting us? No…well, maybe yes, mad for little girls!
You see within a matter of weeks we discovered that (1) my son, my parents’ only grandchild (to date) and his wife were expecting a baby (my 1st grandchild). (My daughter-in-law has a cute little fellow from a previous marriage.) Not too long after this news we found out the new grandbaby was going to be a girl and I was as the British say, gobsmacked! Over the moon excited!
Then (2) within a matter of what seemed like days, my sister…who I might add is only about 3 and a half year younger than me discovered her long awaited dream of adopting was about to come true. Their little girl was waiting for them in China. At the end of May they flew over to bring her home.
So, my sister is getting her first child, I’m getting my first grandchild and my parents are getting their second grandchild (mind you their 1st grandchild is 30 now!) and their first great-grandchild all within a matter of a few months.
Kinda makes me feel like I need to be on hormone therapy just to keep up…
I was out today running some errands. I had to pick up some new glasses. My stop was just a few blocks away from my sister’s house, so I called to see if I could stop by for a few minutes to see my little raven haired beauty of a niece. I was delighted to find out I could.
Oh my how she’s grown, toddling about, interacting, playing and doing normal toddler stuff. She was fascinated with Aunt Bev’s toes when I took my shoes off to dance with her. I think it was my red nail polish that struck her fancy and I promised her when she was older we would paint each other’s toenail. She’s almost 16 months old and loves to go near a computer…a girl after my heart…we’ll have to do some bonding there, too. I could just squeeze her she’s so sweet and cute!
My sister has been a career special education teacher most of her life. She’s very particular and organized. A tad of a perfectionist, too…that runs in the family and I resemble that remark myself! I had wondered how Pam would settle in to having a baby around and I have to say I was tickled and warmed by what I saw. There were toys and little girl stuff in almost every room…not dirty mind you, but just neat things for a little girl. To make one happy and secure…and loved. And, she is in the midst of fixing Abbi’s “grown up” room and it will be a little girl’s dream, complete with pink…yes, pink carpet …and of course in this family…books…books…books…
There is one word for all of it…adorable…and…adored…
I’ve just finished my Addi’s (Addison) quilt. I may have mentioned before that I’ve been quilting since 1986.
I found out last year that while I was living out of state Pam had taken some quilting lessons at a local shop. Last fall she showed me the top she had made in anticipation for her answered prayers…the the daughter that would be someday. This was her first project and it was near perfect and done in sweet little girl colors. At the time it almost broke my heart because we didn’t know if or when that dream would ever come about.
I asked Pam today about that baby quilt. And she said, “Bev, I’ve just been so swamped I haven’t had a chance to get it quilted.”
I bit my lip. My heart had been burdened for that little quilt. I wanted Abbi to have the quilt her Momma made for her and prayed over for her…before she ever even knew Abbi.
I asked Pam, “Pam, would you like your big sister to quilt Abbi’s quilt for you or is that something you want to do yourself?”
She said, “Bev, I don’t know when I’ve going to be able to quilt it and finish it.”
Long story short, when I left I had the honor of taking the quilt with me. I’ll start working on it soon. I have some things going on…still painting up at the house and getting moved in there and a trip out to see my Tall & Handsome. But this little quilt is going to be a special labor of love from me to my sister and my niece…
Abbi’s Quilt – My Sister Pam’s 1st project Didn’t she do great?
Detail of the block fabrics
Abigail – This was taken in China when they went to bring her home. She has grown SO much since then! Isn’t she precious?!
© 2010 Beverly Hicks Burch All Rights Reserved.
