Saturday, November 18, 2006



A very special quilt for a very special dad.

*oops, post update, I forgot to say that this is actually me presenting Dad with his quilt and as I'm not likely to be seen much, you had better apply face to name today!

My dad turned 70 back in February. He swore that he wasn't having a party and there was not to be any fuss. But I knew this was just so that Mum, who doesn't really enjoy organizing things, didn't have to go to any trouble so I organized all of his friends and family to go out for tea. It was really great, but it was especially great because two years ago he really shouldn't have got to his 70th.

He decided to enter a shearing competition, (at 68!) because he loves shearing and a bit of a challenge. Well, the shearing part wasn't the problem, perhaps getting overly keyed up was and he proceeded to lose strength down one side, general dizziness and a headache. Being a man, he just decided it would go away and not to mention it. Well it went away enough that he could function but not shear so he had to tell Mum who took him to hospital and the rest as thet say, is history. A stroke and a particularly fortunate mild warning one as one of his carotid (neck) arteries was fully blocked and the other had 5 % blood flow!! Two ops and a month in Melbourne followed and he recovered.(but certainly not back to 100 %)

So the Birthday was looming and I felt people wanted to share and celebrate so invites went out, he had specifically said no presents but on the Tuesday before the Friday night birthday I realised that a quilt is not so much a present as an extension of love so I started! The log cabins are all made from what was in the cupboard that night and the back is calico where I had a go at printing photos of the family and everyone wrote a message of love and support at his party (Which he loved.!!) Only you people will understand when I say that it HAD to be made and you are probably the only ones who will be able to empathise with sewing the bindings on during the trip to the party!

I was reminded of this quilt twice in the past weeks, one sadly and one humourously! Dad had another small stroke that meant no driving and that he is now at a 50 % chance of a major one that will end his life-to the extent that they are not going to worry about a few minor prostate concerns 'as the Vascular disease will mean that is not a problem.' This made me so thankful that I had made the effort but did make me think, "where are they keeping that quilt, I haven't seen it" and presumed it was on their bed. Then my daughter came home after our date night and said that Ma had asked if it might be alright for Poppy to use his special quilt because he's getting cold of a night!! She had put it away for 'good'. When is 'good' when you are old? I just laughed as that is so how I was brought up-use all the old cheap stuff everyday and have every good nice thing put away! I do not live like this anymore. I was very fortunate to marry a man who says, if you like it use it, if it breaks, buy another one! Boy, did that take some getting used too!!

Mmm.. this was going to be a very short post and I was mainly going to tell you that husband is concerned about the new me (the one who is not going to let things bank up and overwhelm her)....concerned I may be pregnant!! Seems the kind of change where I did actually iron the clothes straight off the clothes line-AND his hankies.. must warrant a bigger change! Fortunately doctors would be sued if pregnancy was the cause so I shall just have to keep it up and prove it's a permanent non-hormonal thing! Cheers and enjoy your weekend.

11 comments:

  1. (Thanks for the comments on my blog!)
    Hey, what a great post. I was also raised to save the good stuff, but I so enjoy using it!

    Sorry to hear that your dad is not well, but happy to hear that he is going to use the quilt. It is a beautiful quilt and should be enjoyed!!!

    Thanks for the tip about the quilt shop scraps. My old quilt shop did, but I have moved and the new shop does not! :-(

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  2. What are our parents like - saving things for best instead of using them - I guess it goes back to having to be frugal in previous decades - love his quilt and glad he's using it - having had my own dad ill recently I sympathise with you all, lets hope he has many more birthdays - thanks for dropping by to say hello :o)

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  3. I made my mother-in-law a lap quilt (ala Eleanor Burns) that was quite pretty, and I hand quilted PART of it, for 'special'. She was in the nursing home for gosh sakes, and saved it for good! I remember how cold the aged get, and thought it would be a perfect gift (I was her son's NEW wife). To my knowledge, she never used it, not even after she decided she liked me! Everyone else loved it ... still not sure how I should take it.

    Thanks for the love-story of the quilt for your dear Dad. And glad you got him to use it!

    I especially note the phrase "because he's getting cold of a night!!" -- and have hear that phrase "of a night" in southern US, and do not know where it comes from. Most of us say "getting cold IN the night."

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  4. What a beautiful quilt and a wonderful story about your father. My husband is like yours. When we were creating our gift registry we decided on casual china. Whenever he cooks, we use the casual china instead of our everyday dishes.

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  5. thanks for sharing the story of your dad and his quilt. Sorry to hear he isn't well but it's good to know that he is using his quilt.

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  6. What a lovely post, Tracey, and I do hope your Dad is doing okay. Looks like a beautiful quilt...LOL and I can relate to the parents "saving" the "good" things...for when??? LOL So glad he's using it now.

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  7. Oh happy birthday to your dad, what a wonderful quilt! I"ve made my mom 2 quilts and she uses them. One she takes with her 3 times a week for dyalsis! I was so happy to hear that! Of course she loves that the nurses all ohh and ahh over it!

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  8. What a wonderful story about your dad, and about his quilt. My family was the save-the-good-stuff kind, too, but I never liked that, so we *use* things. Especially quilts. I can always make more!

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  9. What a beautiful quilt for such a special person! I'm glad your Dad is now using it and not "keeping it for good". I grew up in that same type environment. But not any longer. Pretty things shouldn't be saved for visitors. Everything I own is available for daily use in my house. Why have soft fluffy towels that live in the linen closet and only use the ancient ratty ones? Or new bed sheets in the cedar chest when the ones you use have patches? (And my grandmother actually did that until my Mom refuced to patch a patch!) And why can't I eat my lunch sandwich off my best china? I have my great-aunt's wedding crystal that was given me when I married. I use it. And I have my grandmothers silver that she got when she married. I use that too. And next time I go back home I'll be picking up my Mom's wedding china. And Yep, I'll be using that too.

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  10. Hi Tracey, thanks for visiting my blog. I looked back on your post and found the 'chooks'. I love the quilts you made with the plaids too, I have lots of plaids and I'm now deliberating just what pattern to use them in.

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  11. The story of your dad's quilt is precious! I do understand that you just HAD to make it, and I completely agree that a quilt isn't so much a gift as an extension of love. I can just see you whipping that binding on in the car on the way to the party! :) I'm so glad that he is now using it...it will keep him warm inside and out.

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Thanks for finding the time to comment, I'll try hard to get back to you!! Sorry, have had to add word verification step due to comment spam!