The Past Ten Years

Twelve years ago I decided to make an English Paper Pieced, aka EPP, quilt.  I discovered a blog called Life Under Quilts with some great tutorials and began stitching stars using 60 degree diamonds.  A fun thing about the blog was the author, Jessica, hosted a weekly "linky party" called Monday Morning Star Count, where followers could show off their own progress.  I really enjoyed the comeraderie and seeing each person's progress the past week, which was shared by including a link to their own blogs.  Their progress inspired my own, and eventually I decided I wanted to share my progress there too... so this blog was born.  I stitched and blogged very sporadically.

Five or 6 years ago my old neighbor Bill came to live with us following some upheavals in his life. He would need EVERYTHING to get back on his feet and into his own apartment again.  One day we found a big, heavy, vintage, hand stitched quilt at a yard sale for only $5!  It needed extensive repairs, so I showed Bill how to make large, also EPP, hexagon patches which we then stitched in place.  

I say "we" but it was mostly Bill.  He spent a lot of hours stitching on his quilt while Hat and I were at work. Shown above he is stitching one of the 1st hexies in place.  He chose that dark red because the damaged hexie he's patching over was dark red.  Throughout the repair process he chose fabrics that echoed the ones he was covering as closely as possible to honor the original quilt maker's choices.

Bill did a great job and eventually finished repairs.  I suggested he continue quilting by making a quilt from scratch.  At first he said "Definitely not.  I'm DONE with quilting!"  I ignored his protests and drafted up a pattern using more of the same size hexies.  

I printed it out and laid it on the table where he couldn't miss it. I mentioned that people spend big money on hand stitched quilts.  A week or more went by.  He diid a lot of TV watching and napping, but defiantly made a point of not stitching.  I caught him looking at the pattern a few times, but he'd quickly put it down if I noticed.  So stubborn!  Then one day he started looking in the fabric box... and next thing I knew he had cut some fabric and was stitching.  He said he was doing it for me. 

Not long later we found a nearby apartment and helped Bill move.  He continued stitching there and we got together twice a week for grocery shopping or a meal at our house over the next few months.  Then, quite unexpectedly, Bill died.  We found him seated on his couch with his TV still on and basted hexies on his small kitchen table nearby.  Since then, Hat and I both retired and moved from my big ancient house to his more modern house in another small town nearby.  I hadn't stitched for years but recently decided to start again.  I've decided to work on completing the one Bill started (hexie flowers) before completing the one I started (diamond stars).  The 8 1/2 flowers Bill completed (shown above) are easy to figure out where they go because he numbered them to correspond with numbers he wrote on the pattern. 

These green hexies are also obvious as to their intended use.  The remaining hexies I'm just trying to guess what his plans for them were.  

My darling daughter R stitched the 3 on the right together. :)