Being Surprised with

A Labor of Love

Our cousin, HM and her husband, JM came for a visit yesterday. And, what a visit it was! Look what she gave me!!!

Bookcase Quilt

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It is a bookcase quilt she made with a “labor of love” as she said in the panel where she signed her name (See the last image). The idea came to her after she saw a picture I’d posted on my FB page of a bookcase quilt someone had made.

All of the books in the bookcase are created from fabric scraps she had on hand. She is an accomplished quilter. HM told me she had looked and looked for a quilting pattern and couldn’t find one. After several months searching, she looked at her sweet husband, JM, and said, “I’m going to design my own!” JM is a great supporter of her work. He fixes dinner, takes care of the animals, entertains the grandkids, and keeps busy as she locks herself away in her beautiful sewing room her son helped design and build for her.

The amazing part was all she did to make this quilt possible. When she began this project, she shared with friends she was designing it herself. One friend of hers who lives several hundred miles away would talk with her every day-giving her advice, recommending things to try, and needed moral support. Finally, they decide to learn how to do FaceTime so that they could share ideas better.

Another friend said that the vases needed to have flowers. Instead of using fabric, her friend made the yarn flowers so that it would give a three-dimensional effect to the quilt. HM was so excited because she didn’t learn how to make the flowers. Instead, she used the talents of her friends, which is just how HM is. She loves people.

And, her granddaughter “A” got into the act, too. She came up with the very cool pouch that holds an actual book (I think that’s an awesome touch). HM even learned how to take the book spines of my published novels from photographs Jules gave her, and then printed them on the fabric! (See the second picture) How cool is that?!? What a wonderful job!

The backing is a gorgeous piece of warm fleece. The edging is suede. I’ve thought and thought where to hang it so my family and friends can enjoy it. But, I keep finding myself wanting to sit with it wrapped around me as I write. It is so warm and cozy.

What do you think? Should I hang it or should I use it?

This is one of the gifts that keeps on giving. Each time I look at the bookcase, I’ll be reminded of HM’s “Labor of Love” and I’ll be so inspired by her creativity. With this post, I’m sending much love and gratitude to Cousin HM and her sweet husband, JM for sharing their love. And, an extra special shout out to Hobbit King and Jules for keeping this a secret. You guys truly surprised me!

Writing with Love,
Pam