Welcome to Melva Loves Scraps and another session of Sew & Tell... the party where everyone gets to share the progress of their projects... or, in some cases, the lack of progress. ;) It happens... and that is ok, because sometimes life happens.
Yes, it needed it. Though I am not 100% in love with the grey border. I will trim the border down a little and a red binding will help me get over that.
The next question is... how do I quilt it?
We, like so many others across the US, are in the middle of a polar vortex weather system. I am thankful that the furnace is working properly and that we can afford the propane and electricity to keep it that way.
As I chain pieced this together, I contemplated many things. I thought of the many colorful, reddish, sunrises and sunsets that we have. This is just one example... and decided that the name "Red Skies" was an appropriate name for the quilt. I mean, there is not a hint of gold in this one! ;)
As I chain pieced the many components of Red Skies, I used some pink scraps as a leader/ender project to create a few RSC challenge blocks. Korner Kabin (my name, I don't know a real name...) is my block of choice for this challenge. A variation of the Log Cabin block, this will not require as many neutral scraps, which is a good thing since my supply of neutrals is greatly depleted after Red Skies...
The little star block was an orphan that I discovered in the stack of pink scraps. It is a little wonky, but it deserves a home too, just because it was a discarded test block from the Pieces in the Garden quilt doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve a forever home. ;)
It is just how I feel about any abandoned UFO quilt project... like the Bride's Quilt that I shared in the TGIFF story. I was vague about so much in that story because I was respecting the privacy of my brother and sister-in-law's family. It's been nagging at me and after much prayer, I have decided that that quilt deserves the attention and acknowledgement of the maker's story. Nothing more than what was shared at Loressa's funeral.
She had much to deal with all of her life... Her story/life started with the fact that her mother died from complications of childbirth when Loressa was just days old. Her dad, Leland, was overcome with grief and the responsibility of raising her as a single dad in 1965. Loressa refused a bottle. Leland's brother and his wife had recently had a baby girl and stepped in and raised Loressa as one of their own. Colleen was just a few months old and was being breastfed but easily accepted her meals from a bottle and Loressa was happy to be at the breast.
Loressa became a teenage mom and struggled in her marriage. After her first marriage ended, her son Shawn lived with his dad. Loressa was a very loving Mom on a very tight budget but always made plans for something fun to do with her son.
As her brother-in-law told at her service, Loressa was a loner, even from a young age. While in school, she would often get home, grab a snack and her homework and head to a tractor by the barn. She sought out solitude, and despite coming from a large family, did not like gatherings... whether family or not.
It was one of the reasons we never really got the chance to know her after she married my brother, Kelvin. Our interactions with her were always brief. She was very pleasant and a joy, but our encounters were always brief. Through the years, she kept making her circle of interaction with others smaller and smaller... and eventually even cut out my brother. Her sisters and brothers were upset with her for that choice. Her son was upset as well.
Perhaps it went back to a sense of abandonment when her father couldn't care for her... Perhaps it was a genetic mental illness, as her father had. Perhaps it was that she felt unworthy of love. We can't ever really know or understand, but we were all reminded at her funeral service that it was understandable that most present didn't agree with the lifestyle that she was living... but we are not called to judge... we are called to love. Loressa expressed her love through creating in her crafts. And this Bride's Quilt was just that... an expression of her love from to Kelvin.
Loressa had made amends with Kelvin, of sorts, as she moved to Omaha a few years ago for a job. Kelvin expressed his love and forgiveness to her in having me make a quilt for her for Christmas, 2022 from clothes that she left behind when she moved out. In the end she had reconciled with her family as well. With the finish of the Bride's Quilt, Kelvin can have the chance to feel her loving embrace as he covers up with it. As Gail says, "Anyone who sleeps under a quilt is covered by LOVE!"
Oh, I feel so much better now. If you have made it this far... thanks for the "listening ear." Now for the randomly selected feature from last week's Sew & Tell party! 🎉 Nann at With Strings Attached shared her RSC projects... Pink galore!
Oh, that is a sad story, Melva. Lorressa was so young and beautiful. Makes me appreciate your finishing the quilt gift even more.
ReplyDeleteWow! Red Skies came out so pretty. The grey border, to my eye, acts like a subtle frame to your quilt. Lovely, and bright pink blocks. Love the one with the stars and horses! Thank you for sharing Loressa’s story. She was a beautiful young lady with a troubled heart. I love what you said – we are called to love. Hugs to you all and her family.
ReplyDeleteWhat a mournful story about Lorressa. Her early story sounds very much like my Mom's story. Mom's mother also died from birth complications when Mom was a baby. For reasons I still don't understand, her Dad gave her to her mother's sister (her aunt, who became my Granny) to raise. Granny and Uncle Dan, as Mom called him, were childless, and Mom was raised in a rural environment and was always lonely. Although Granny loved her, she was not demonstrative, and Mom longed for attention. Uncle Dad was an alcoholic - the nicest person in the world when he was sober, and not abusive but crazy when he was drunk, which was fairly often. I don't think Mom ever got over her Dad giving her up, so I understand how that affected Lorressa, bless her heart. Thanks for sharing her story.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your beautiful Red Skies finish.
I like the cold, but I would like to be able to walk outside without gasping - lol! It is 17 here this morning.
Red Skies is just gorgeous, Melva! It's the perfect quilt representation of your beautiful sky photo. I'm so sorry about your sister-in-law; her story is heart breaking. You told it with great compassion. I'm glad there was reconciliation for your brother toward the end of her life, though. And yes, I'm so ready for a warm-up! But we are in the same boat up here - the second round of the Arctic cold is coming through. Maybe it will break tomorrow afternoon.
ReplyDeleteI really like your red skies quilt - so pretty.
ReplyDeleteand wow - what a story . I always find it interesting that what we see may not be the real story. and I love that you say we are called to love, not to judge. I need to remember that daily! so glad there was some reconciliation - hugs!
I LOVE your stars in red and cream!
ReplyDeleteYour red skies is beautiful as well as the Bridal quilt although Loressa's story is a sad one.
ReplyDeleteI do love red/white and red/ivories! It's a striking quilt! I'm sorry about your sister-in-law. I pray she is at peace now.
ReplyDeleteYour Red Skies is wonderful! Maybe applique some red diamonds on that grey border or as cornerstones and do that red binding scrappy to harken back to the center of the quilt? Loressa's story is both sad and inspiring. She definitely was not dealt the best of cards in life but you could also see that she tried throughout to make it work to the best of her ability. Unfortunately for so long the issues of depression, mental health, personal angst and loneliness were not treated with the general compassion they are now. Imagine if she had access to therapy even by phone like we have now, she might have been able to cope differently than she did. Despite it all, she did not die in obscurity and she is remembered both in thoughts of many and tangibly with the quilt which is more than some have at the end of their life. I am reminded of a verse in a song in the musical "Hamilton": "Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?" Thank you for sharing hers!
ReplyDeleteRed Skies is beautiful!
ReplyDeleteRed Skies is just gorgeous! Thanks for joining in on Home Matters Linky Party! I will be featuring your post this week! #HomeMattersParty xx
ReplyDeleteThat was quite the story about Loressa, she lived life her way and her art was very pretty. Speaking of quilts, yours are always so amazing. Hey, I'm sure ready for the temperatures so start warming up. Thanks for joining Angel Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop!
ReplyDeleteHi Melva, I love your Red Skies quilt.
ReplyDeleteLoressa's story is very sad, but I'm glad in the end she made peace with your brother and her family. What a great gift you gave him with that quilt. Red Skies is absolutely stunning! I look forward to seeing how it was quilted. Thanks for joining us at Monday Musings!
ReplyDeleteWow, your Red Skies is gorgeous! l love it. Thank you for sharing your projects and stories, hugs.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful quilt top. You never know what people have been through and how it impacts him. So sad her life was short.
ReplyDeleteWhat a compelling story, thank you for sharing. I went back and read the linked posts as well. I love Gail's comment. As an antique and vintage items dealer with two of my sisters, we so appreciate and cherish the hand worked quilts we find. There is so much love in quilted works. Note: saw your Red Skies featured on Suzanne's blog and wanted to visit. It is gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteRed Skies is a lovely quilt! I suppose if you don't like the grey border you can add a tan one instead since tan is used in the quilt top. Can't wait to see the finish! Thanks for sharing on my weekly show and tell, Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.inquiringquilter.com/questions/2025/01/22/wednesday-wait-loss-416
I love it, these are my favorite stars to make and look at. Thank you for linking up to Put your foot down.
ReplyDelete