A delightful discovery

I haven’t had time to get photographs of things I’ve made in preparation for spring, but I am missing my blogging so went for a trawl through my photo stash and thought I’d share something of my Mum’s.

A while back I found this roll of what I thought was calico, which I found when we cleaned out Mum’s sewing room.

I set it aside for that improbable time when I would want to make a muslin. Well, the day came and I started unrolling the fabric, only to discover that (a) it wasn’t calico, and (b) underneath the large outside piece of fabric were a large number of squares, all handpainted by my mother. Here is a small sample.

Sorry the bird is upside down, but you get the idea. Most of the panels are Australian wildflowers and birds but, bizarrely Mickey and Minnie get into the action. They are uber cute though!

I felt rather sad about these squares; my Mum has been in a nursing home for a couple of years and her hands are so arthritic, she can’t paint, draw, sew or knit, but it’s clear that she is extremely talented. Amongst the squares are some soft cotton t-shirt fronts which she has also painted. I might make them up for nightwear for me as they are no longer suitable for her.

I have had a passing fancy for making a quilt, and now I am determined to turn these panels into something that won’t sit in a cupboard but which honours all the effort, love and care that Mum put into these. Some of the panels are unfinished but the outlines are drawn in and I’m going to include them. I don’t know what her intentions were, but they say “quilt” to me, and that’s what I’ll do.

And finally, another photograph of a beautiful garden in Hobart. How is this for a tree?