Some colleagues are special and deserve a quilt for their special occasion. Carla was involved in Europdonor Foundation from the very beginning as office manager, personal assistant for the director, and jack-of-all-trades for the donor center, keeping an eye on the stem cell donation schedule. She kept all the historical facts in her head or in her archives. She was our living wiki with knowing all the ins and outs and who's, what's, and where's of stem cell donation. She will retire in January 2012, and we had a farewell party last Friday.
That I would make a quilt for Carla was a matter of course, but the implementation took me more time than expected. Oh, the theme for the quilt was easily found: Carla loves Africa, and has traveled their a couple of times. But how to process this theme into a quilt in an original way? Every time I was thinking about a design, I heard Carla's voice somewhere in the back of my head: 'don't forget, I am very critical'. I selected and deselected fabrics for hours.
I thought of traditional blocks, but decided for something less stringent. I asked Carla if she would like to have her own Africa pictures processed in the quilt; she gave me a CD with photo's and I choose six of them that found their destination on the map of South Africa.
Little by little, step by step, the 'Forever Africa' quilt was born and developed over the past weeks. For the borders I decided to use the colors of the South African flag, using simple solids. The evening prior to the farewell party I finished the quilt. And Carla? She seemed to be pretty content with the result!
That I would make a quilt for Carla was a matter of course, but the implementation took me more time than expected. Oh, the theme for the quilt was easily found: Carla loves Africa, and has traveled their a couple of times. But how to process this theme into a quilt in an original way? Every time I was thinking about a design, I heard Carla's voice somewhere in the back of my head: 'don't forget, I am very critical'. I selected and deselected fabrics for hours.
I thought of traditional blocks, but decided for something less stringent. I asked Carla if she would like to have her own Africa pictures processed in the quilt; she gave me a CD with photo's and I choose six of them that found their destination on the map of South Africa.
Little by little, step by step, the 'Forever Africa' quilt was born and developed over the past weeks. For the borders I decided to use the colors of the South African flag, using simple solids. The evening prior to the farewell party I finished the quilt. And Carla? She seemed to be pretty content with the result!
1 comment:
I like seeing your stash of fabric colors and knowing that you arranged and rearranged them on your table for hours while your imagination went to work. I also tend to daydream about needlework projects. Piecing in the African photographs indeed makes the quilt special. The recipient was blessed by your generous "quilter's heart" I'm sure. Karen A. in America
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