January 20th, 2022

Joy gave me a surprise gift yesterday and you have three guesses as to what it was.  No, not an alligator.  Nope, it wasn't an elephant either.  Yes!  You got it!  A quilt!  Isn't it gorgeous?

I'm pretty sure that I already mentioned before that Joy makes quilts.  And she makes them beautifully. Each one is a work of art and every single one of them is different.  She carefully chooses (and sometimes creates) her quilt design specifically for the recipient and with just as much care, selects the fabrics that go into the quilt. 

My quilt (above) is made up out of the scrips and scraps of all of the other quilts that she has made over the years.  And since I got to help select many of those fabrics, my quilt is sort of like a collection of the memories of those outings!  Even the fabrics I didn't actively help choose I saw because Joy has sent me photographs of (I think) every quilt she has ever made so I there is a connection to them all.

I adore the design of this quilt.  It's kind of higgle dee piggle dee, much like me.  I have always favoured crazyquilts,  Don't get me wrong. I greatly admire the specific and careful designs of other quilts, but this one is just kind of wild and crazy and free in it's form and that just suits me right down to my toes.

Let me show you a closer up photo:

Isn't it marvelous?  Nothing goes together which, in my world, means that everything goes together. Every time I look at it I see something that I didn't notice before.    And can you imagine the labour that goes into making this?  While Joy is younger than me, her hands are starting to behave similarly to mine in that arthritis is beginning to rear it's ugly head so her hands hurt.  And doing fine work like this, especially when you've been at it for hours,  is painful.   To say nothing of what being curled over a quilting table and sewing machine for hours on end! It  can do a real nasty job to your neck and back!  Yikes!  You know it's a labour of love when someone works through the pain to create the art for you, right?

And art it is, make no mistake about that!  I would be entirely correct if I had this framed and hung it on the wall.  People do use quilts as wall hangings.  It  could be draped over an occasional table or used to cover an unfortunate looking chair.    I would work as a blanket for the beach or a picnic. I could even just carefully fold it and leave it on one of the book shelves to be admired (but not touched).  But probably I will snuggle under it while reading or watching movies late at night. 

Oh I nearly forgot to tell you that this quilt has a secret.  As it turns out,  there are secret hidden kitties on this quilt. Every time I think I have found them all, I find another one.  They look like this. Is this not the most adorable quilting you've ever seen? :

This was the first one I found, obviously the easiest since it's white stitching on blue but the rest are sneakier and trickier and funner.  Funner?  More  Fun.  

Oh so yes, that's the other thing she selects with the specific recipient in mind, the quilting pattern.  Yeah, we call the entire thing a quilt, but the actual "quilt" part of it is the stitching that holds the top piece and the bottom piece together and that in turn holds the interior batting in place.  Or did you already know that?  The quilting designs just on their own are incredible. And it just takes the entire thing to another level.

Ok so let's tally this up.  I have this beautiful gift which is: a) a quilt  b) a piece of art c) beautiful c) functional d) cozy and warm e) colourful f) fun g) a game (not Where's Waldo but where's Catto?) h) a collection of memories i) made by my sister and j) something I will cherish forever.

​Whoever it was that said the best gifts are those you create wasn't wrong.