Monday, September 26, 2022

Special Delivery!

     One quilt blogger I truly miss is Deb Clarke. Her work, her help, her personality were extra special. When she died, her husband contacted me and said he was going through her sewing room with great difficulty. I can't imagine the grief.
    Russ let me know he found a couple of quilts that Deb had asked him to have me quilt. I had offered to quilt Deb's quilts when she had fallen so ill, but the shot hastened her death and I never was to hear from her again.
    This past week, I received a special box with two quilts inside, backing, and some batting. The first quilt I took out was a batik. I looked it up on Deb's blog to tell me some of the story. You can see how it came to be. However, when I pinned it on the wall, it seemed to need some border or ending to the piece, but I did not know if I had the right to change it.

    The next quilt has its first mention as a leader/ender in the link above, but later here. In her photo, there was no blue border around it like the one I pulled out of the box. Well, since Deb added that blue border on the leader/ender quilt, I knew she would be fine adding a similar border to the batik, so I found a perfect fabric and sewed it on.


Side auditions

With borders, I think it extends the quilt and makes the slashed pieces stronger
    Honestly, it is time consuming to put this blog together. Writing is hard work for me- takes a lot of writing/rewriting. But, the payoff in making/keeping the friends I have and being part of their lives is a huge payoff. It moves me from being a consumer of media to a creator/collaborator which is infinitely more rich despite the efforts.
    Thank you to all the bloggers who let me into their lives and enrich mine so fully as Deb Clarke did!

10 comments:

Quilting Babcia said...

I too miss the friendship with Deb and think of her often. The border you added to her batik top is just perfect in my eyes, subtle and doesn't take away from the block design and her fabric choices.

Mystic Quilter said...

Taking a trip down Memory Lane reading this post Linda. She was in touch with me from ER just a few days before her passing, I miss her. I think you have done full justice to these quilts and I'm certain she would be happy with them. Do keep on blogging!!!

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

Debbie made so many pretty quilts. We all miss her.

Gene Black said...

Debbie was a wonderfully dear person. I still miss her blogging. Ia m sure she would be very happy with your finishes on these quilts.

Mary said...

I miss Deb too.

diane said...

I, too, miss her a lot!
It's wonderful to hear you are doing her last two quilts.
When I first seen her name I didn't recognize until I went to her blog and seen her blog title.
You're doing the right thing Linda. Deb would approve!

Vicki W said...

I think Deb would absolutely approve of the border you chose. The people who receives those collaborative quilts will truly be receiving gifts made of love.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

I muss her, too! I think she would love what you have done with her quilts - ;))

Quiltdivajulie said...

How marvelous that Russ sent these to you as Debbie wanted. I have zero doubt that you will finish them in wonderful fashion. Quilting and blogging are what keep so many of us engaged - the blogging does take time but if we stop trying to be perfectionists (guilty as charged), it does get easier.

Anonymous said...

What a very loving act to finish the quilts for them. I love having the opportunity to repair or finish things for others.