Now on to the coffin cover. In 2003 a friend of mine was diagnosed with 5 brain tumors. She had radiation and the chemo pill and seemed to be doing well, and then she started having seizures. They told her the tumors were back and growing and there was nothing more they could do for her. She passed away 6 weeks later.
While she was ill I was working on this piece. I had no idea what I was making, no plan. When I sewed it together it was this long narrow shape and I said it looked like a coffin cover. I have never shaken the idea that it is the right shape to be draped over a coffin. It is kind of eerie, like why did that pop into my head? I have mixed feelings about finishing it. It is 43" x 72".
All of the fabrics are batiks except the setting triangle fabric.
Yippee, the repairman is here and says it is a bad fan in the freezer which is what blows the air up into the refrigerator. He has one with him and he is repairing as I type. I see spell check still isn't working so I will come back later and check it myself.
12 comments:
That is a hired man's quilt.
anonymous, Ok I've heard that term before, hired man's quilt. Are there specifications to become such or is it just long and narrow?
Reading todays story ~ I felt your emotion. Can you think of it as a memorial quilt in her honor? It is beautiful wall hanging, full of life and love you have for her still today. A stunning tribute in her honor.
Happy to hear repair man could fix immediately and that he didn't have to order a part.
J~MT
I think it is a wonderful thing - finish it ! I would be so happy if someone considered something like this when my time comes. It is a celebration! I know that Coffin Covers were very common in, I believe, the Victorian period.It's a beautiful piece - and should be completed. It could also be considered a table topper - if that sounds better !
Wanda,
Love your site... I check it everyday. The family of a cousin who was a prolific hand quilter put a folded quilt on her casket... It was floral and was such a lovely tribute to her and her favorite hobby. It added a very personal touch to an otherwise cold experience...
I especially like the mottled starry night circles that are the setting triangles...
Quilt on!
It is beautiful, & I see it filled with joy. I think it would make a lovely wall hanging- I have just the wall! LOL!
This reminds me of my father's funeral. We have Scottish blood in our veins, so hired a bagpiper. As we stood at the graveside, something prompted me to take off my plain scarf (in our clan tartan) and drape it over his coffin. It was buried with him.
Every now and then I remember looking back at that lone coffin with a blue-green long scarf on it. The day was cold, the graveyard a lonely field of snow, yet the picture in my mind has a sweetness along with the sorrow, and I'm thankful I gave up my colorful scarf.
Wanda, when my mother died in 2005 we draped her coffin with a beautiful antique family crazy quilt made by her great-grandmother and her grandmother. She had always treasured that quilt and it was so very fitting.
Just did a quick Google search for hired man's quilt as I'd never heard the term. Most of the examples shown were late 1800s and very early 1900s. Only commonality seems to be that they "aren't very wide" in relation to their length. Most are shown hanging horizontally, but there were a few hung vertically.
I personally think the piece is amazing... and its creation was a part of your journey. Perhaps finishing it now is yet another step??
But, if it brings back too many difficult memories, maybe you should offer it on Wandaful Quilts...
We put ourselves into our quilts, I think sometimes more than we realize. To an outsider like me, it's 'just' a wonderful quilt, but your decision to finish it or not should depend on how willing you are to revisit those emotions. If a friend of mine made a quilt like that as I was dying, I would feel honored.
I made a quilt just this past October for my granddaughter~ to be born in November. She lived only 12 days. That little quilt of eyelet and pink calico's was draped at the end of the tiny casket during the service. When it was time to close the casket, my daughter then wrapped her in this quilt made especially for baby. This is a memory for me that is bittersweet, and yet I am honored that they chose to keep
her wrapped in it. I had to add my story as I read those that followed my comment. And was pleased to read that others had done something similar.
It's a beautiful quilt, no matter what name is used for it. It was made at a time when a friend was suffering. But you put beauty into it. It could be a beautiful memory of a friend, or just a beautiful quilt. It is what you want it to be. If you don't want to finish it, send it on to someone who sees it as a beautiful quilt. You still have wonderful memories of your friend in your heart.
Oh, Wanda - it's so beautiful and it embodies love. I have a friend who is very, very, ill and you caught all the feelings in it. The love and the tears and the questions. Reframe the thinking of it - think of it as a portrait of your friend. I can see it as a spirit figure. You could finish it and give it to a charity sale to benefit cancer research.
Post a Comment