Time for a little photo essay here! These darling people are Pete and Marietta, who have been married for--hold on--64 years, and whom I've known for probably 20 or more. The number of quilts Marietta's made is pretty staggering, especially considering some of the physical challenges she's faced over the years.
Growing older is not for sissies.
The latest threat to her quilting productivity is a big one: she's losing her eyesight to macular degeneration. Enter Pete, who's always been interested in the whole process of quilting--he's an engineer, and has enjoyed learning about all the machines and the mechanics of putting a quilt together, but never felt any need to actually make a quilt himself.
But their grandson is starting college this month, at USC--aka the University of Southern California, which is pretty well known, at least in this part of the world. He needs a quilt to take to college, preferably one that showcases his school, right? Right. So a collaborative effort on the part of the grandparents is making sure he's going to get one. So Grandpa Pete has taught himself how to actually use a sewing machine.
This is one of those "takes a village" quilts--cooperation at a couple of different quilt shops, and lots of determination on the part of the quilters. After several weeks of piecing and sewing, this past Tuesday night the quilt top was completed and has been consigned to the quilt-by-check person. (You know what I mean--the age-old question of hand-or-machine quilting has had a new dimension added to it--now, quilting by check is another option!)
Here's hoping Grandson enjoys his quilt when he gets it!
6 comments:
This is nothing less than an outstanding and heart-warming story.
Thank you for sharing this.
Ruprecht took the words right out of my mouth. Wonderful! Thanks for sharing. :)
Their grandson sure is blessed to have them in his life. What a wonderful labor of love.
My grandmother had macular degeneration. It's horrid. How great for Pete and Marietta that they were able to tag-team on this important quilt. I'm sure it'll be treasured for a very long time to come!
Grandson will love it! How could he not with that kind of love story behind it?
awwwww ... so sad that macular degeneration is claiming another quilter but how wonderful that Pete has found another way to express his obvious adoration of his wife.
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