The Storyteller's Sampler Quilt - Inspiration

Today I thought I would upload my posts from the C&T blog.... as this is where I share my thoughts and many of you probably haven't checked out the C&T site.  

Here it is..

My name is Cinzia and my first book ever, The Storyteller’s Sampler Quilt, has just been released by C&T. 

Today I thought I would share the inspiration for the quilt title, Raconteur - The Storyteller’s Collection. 

The quilt is made of 49 collections each of which has 7 hexagons that are then arranged as a Grandmother’s Flower Garden.  My plan was that each hexagon would tell a story of someone or something significant in my life journey. 

The quilt design when first seen, would be from a distance and all you would see was a Grandmother’s Flower Garden with something sparkling in each large hexagon.  As you approached you would see more and more detail, until you stood directly in front and could see all the colours, fabrics and designs. Like seeing a person from afar and then getting to know them better the closer you become.

Great idea in theory and in real-life … but unfortunately not  great for photography. A king size quilt is made to be photographed standing back but a miniature is made to be photographed up close.  That’s why the cover shows a section of the quilt rather than the entire quilt … so you can see some of the details. 

Collection 30 contains a block I designed and stitched during the time of my mum’s alzheimers.  Prior to Mum’s demise with this disease I had no idea how devastating and soul destroying alzheimers could be.

But when I was there with Mum and watched the slow decline and her suffering you realise how horrid it really is. She knew she was losing her memories and with it her sense of who she was and where she belonged, and she suffered until finally she disappeared altogether with full blown alzheimers.

I changed my thread colour as I stitched, ever lightening to show the fading of the person.  The words I stitched are what I remember of her:

I remember Mum used to smile. She loved music, She loved knitting. But most of all she loved us. Sometimes she forgets.

I took from this sadness not to wait to show those around me, my love for them.