The Most Beautiful Quilt in the World
Our friend E makes quilts. (That link will take you to a bunch of her quilts, including ones that have won awards.) She's unbelievable. She dyes (some of) her own fabric and whips these puppies out like nobody's business. Last summer she offered to make us one, and we could hardly believe her generosity. But we came to believe it, and she told us to pick what we wanted. Sam and I spent days discussing this, finally settling on a strange system of discussing color schemes: we each brought each other books with covers we really liked. Except that didn't really work. Because I liked stuff like this:
And stuff like that made Sam feel like he was bleeding internally. He was looking for something a bit simpler. Finally, after stacks of books were on the kitchen table, we agreed that we both LOVED the colors and vibe of a particular region of Brian Kershisnik's "Nativity"--the part with Mary and Jesus:
We showed that to E, and the pattern we liked best, and she took us to the fabric store to pick out fabrics under her careful direction.
A month or so later, she showed us the finished top, which we adored, and then she sent it off to her NEA-Grant-Winning quilting friend in SLC to be quilted. And a few months later, while at E and K's house for dinner, E asked me to grab a chair from her bedroom and there it was, spread out at the foot of their bed. I made a sound like this: "EEEEEhasflyhfalshllhgkkkkkk!" and Sam came running in to see what was the matter. And there we stood, petting it, until we could catch our breath. During dinner I insisted on spreading it out on the couch behind Sam so I could see it whenever I wanted to, Sam in a halo of quilt beauty.
I cannot get enough of it. I wish I could carry it around with me all day. When it's time for sleep, I'm happy because I get to be beneath it.
E, you are the loveliest. It's the most lovely thing that's ever been mine. Thank you.
[close-ups.]
A month or so later, she showed us the finished top, which we adored, and then she sent it off to her NEA-Grant-Winning quilting friend in SLC to be quilted. And a few months later, while at E and K's house for dinner, E asked me to grab a chair from her bedroom and there it was, spread out at the foot of their bed. I made a sound like this: "EEEEEhasflyhfalshllhgkkkkkk!" and Sam came running in to see what was the matter. And there we stood, petting it, until we could catch our breath. During dinner I insisted on spreading it out on the couch behind Sam so I could see it whenever I wanted to, Sam in a halo of quilt beauty.
[quilt of gloriousness]
[quilt, bed. nothing like a pretty quilt to motivate the bed-making.]
Comments