Heavenly Fire

And then, shortly after my mother passed away in June 2005, some of my quilting friends invited me to spend the July 4th holiday with them learning a different way to make a lone star quilt (we had all been in that struggle-filled class together). This quilt was the result... from my journal notes:

In Lakota tradition, the 8 points of the star represent the following

• Respect
• Truth
• Honesty
• Humility
• Humor
• Compassion
• Wisdom
• Love
  

The name for this quilt was inspired by this quotation:

"There is in every heart a spark of heavenly fire which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity." (Washington Irving)

Heavenly Fire won a blue ribbon at the 2006 Mid-South Fair and was displayed in the Nolting booth during the 2007 Nashville AQS show. HF was also submitted to be considered for the AAQI traveling exhibition (Forgetting, Piece by Piece), but was not chosen ~ which I completely understand since HF was a celebration of my mother's rebirth and restoration after the end of her long, earth-bound struggle with Alzheimer's instead of an interpretive portrayal from the process itself.

I can honestly say this quilt was the first one that just "happened" ~ I had grabbed a handful of fat quarters and went to the gathering mostly to "get out of the house." I had no expectation of making anything beyond piecing a few bits and spending a few hours... but then, the colors took over and the star became.

Up to this point, I had meticulously planned each quilt before I started - what to use for backing, binding, inner and outer borders, all before cutting the first piece... but this time, I had a star and nothing else. So I auditioned fabrics from Cathy's stash, discovering this fabulous piece (which I fortunately had some of at home)... what a transforming afternoon!

Quiltdivajulie

p.s. I have finally begun working on Dandelion Detour again ~ hope to have major progress photos by the end of the weekend (my goal is to have DD assembled and off the design wall). I've also been busy migrating files from my old PC to my Mac laptop ~ going back through hundreds of photo files and sharing some of my early quilts has been an eye-opening and heart-warming experience for me. Sometimes, when we get so busy, we forget to consider where we started and how far we've come... there are a few more that I want to share in the coming week or so ~ and the journey continues!