Lately I’ve wanted to sew all the time but haven’t always been feeling 100 percent, which means that I’ve been ripping out a lot more seams than I’d like. I’ve learned that I’m much happier in the long run if I suffer through resewing in the short run. And I’ve also learned that if I’m not feeling 100 percent, I should probably put off sewing until I am!

That brings me to the quilt I want to share today. It’s my own design and called Tree of Love. This large wallhanging took me a very long time to finish. I started in college with the idea of a great tree against stars and snow and the rising sun, sewn with squares and triangles. I drew it out on graph paper, chose my scraps carefully, and sewed it all together. Once finished, I was pleased but also knew it actually wasn’t finished; however I didn’t know what was missing. So I held onto it.

Many years later, after we’d adopted our two kids, I knew what I needed to complete the quilt: two children in silhouette, in the old-fashioned Sunbonnet Sue pattern, holding out hearts. I chose fabrics that represented the colors and patterns of our kids’ clothing. I used Steam-a-Seam to make the applique easy. When I started thinking about borders, I quickly decided on an excerpt from lyrics of a favorite song (“We Are” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMqZIUuCykQ) by the amazing a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. I cut out each of the letters and again used Steam-a-Seam to applique them all to the borders. Then it was time to quilt and bind. I had fun using metallic thread to create sun rays (ok, actually, it was my first time using metallic thread and the thread kept breaking and it was really frustrating – but I loved the result). The quilt hangs in our foyer and I smile whenever I see it. I’m so glad I had the patience to wait to finish it until it all came together.