The Spiral Heart Quilt by Kristin Miller
With
thanks to Mike for design inspiration
This is the design the family chose, after I emailed them
three choices, all using the symbols and images they had requested. You
can see that the finished quilt is somewhat different, as I made some
changes while creating the quilt.
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A tactile symbol of life, love, and
family
The Spiral Heart Quilt began when a family
contacted me by email about a quilt to celebrate their beloved
grandmother's eightieth birthday.
A granddaughter wrote, "We would like
our quilt to integrate symbols of her life including quilt patches that
are stitched with her wedding date, birth of her children, graduation from
high school et cetera. We are open to ideas that you have on design. We
want the quilt to be a tactile symbol of life, love, and family that she
can wrap-up in."
This began a lengthy exchange of emails as
I worked with the family to develop a design that expressed their
sentiments, and that stayed within their budget.
I suggested that each member of the family
think about symbols for the quilt, and what they hoped that the quilt
would express. I also suggested that they send me "doodles" or
sketches if they wished.
Well, I was overwhelmed by their heartfelt
response, and it took some time to figure out what the common themes
were, and what symbols might express them.
Luckily, one family member sent some wonderful sketches, including an
image of hands holding a spiral. This became the central image of the
quilt.
From the family's suggestions, I also
integrated a family tree, 'the river of life', 'the mountains of
adversity', and 'the circle round the sun'.
Names and dates were embroidered on the side panels. |
