Twenty+ years or so ago I planned a special lap sized quilt for my father. My girls were young and I had them trace some coloring book figures (...I think I helped them a little) with fabric crayons onto light colored fabric squares. At that time the only light peach fabric I found was a polyester-cotton sheet. (We were living in Germany and very few quilting cotton fabrics were available.) I picked 14 items that had sentimental significance for my dad. This gator, for instance, because we had them in our Florida lake, they built a big nest near our dock, and when I was young we went gator hunting at night searching for their two little red eyes glowing on the surface of the water from our flashlights. Other selections included - a mule because Dad was from Missouri and we teased him for being quite stubborn;
-a watermelon because he could pick the sweetest ones for us to enjoy, which we did on many family get togethers;
-a screwdriver because he was a fantastic handyman and had drawers full of screwdrivers and other tools;
-a duck because he had brought a family of ducks to our lake which were always multiplying and roosting on our dock and yard;
-a deer, a fish, and a squirrel because he was an avid sportsman and hunter. He had the mounted deer heads to prove it.
-a church because God was the center of our home, we attended services at least three times a week, and Dad was on the building and maintenance committees of our church;
-a palm tree for Hawaii, the paradise where he met my mother and a place that gave him so much joy,
-and so on.
-a watermelon because he could pick the sweetest ones for us to enjoy, which we did on many family get togethers;
-a screwdriver because he was a fantastic handyman and had drawers full of screwdrivers and other tools;
-a duck because he had brought a family of ducks to our lake which were always multiplying and roosting on our dock and yard;
-a deer, a fish, and a squirrel because he was an avid sportsman and hunter. He had the mounted deer heads to prove it.
-a church because God was the center of our home, we attended services at least three times a week, and Dad was on the building and maintenance committees of our church;
-a palm tree for Hawaii, the paradise where he met my mother and a place that gave him so much joy,
-and so on.
With each picture I searched and searched for a Bible verse to go with it. This was back before home computers were that common, so I had to really peruse the pages. The gator brought to mind a verse in Daniel, "huge animals came up out of the sea." The watermelon had "let the earth burst forth with every seed bearing plant. Genesis 1:11" It was an challenging hunt to see if I could really find a verse for every idea. I did. All rather clever and appropriate for my dad.
I don't think I intentionally picked The University of Florida's school colors of blue and orange, but it turned out to be serendipitous. Dad had worked in Gainesville many years ago when I was a baby and we lived only a few miles away. (We were not UF fans in particular, especially since Mother was a Florida State grad, a major UF competitor.)
The quilt was rarely used as a lap quilt. My parents placed it over their 1940s steamer trunk kept in their bedroom in a spot they would see every day. I added a few new family member names to the center block in the coming years. Now faded by the blazing Florida sunlight, it still bears some of the faint crayon colors and hand written Bible verses. Dad and Mom have passed on. I decided to keep the quilt. Not an exceptionally quilted item, but it's one of those tender treasures.
"I thank my God upon every rememberance of you." Philippians 1:3
"I thank my God upon every rememberance of you." Philippians 1:3