Shirt Box 1, Part 1

In a Deep Dark Corner…

 … of  a small back room at an estate sale, lay a battered white shirt box. I always find them - I actually search for them! You would not believe the great surprises that lay in them!

This one was $8. Upon quick examination, I find misc quilt blocks, and today, I dig no further. I walk through the rest of the sale getting to ‘know’ the deceased lady by seeing her left behind treasures. I finally go to pay out and find out today was the 50% off day! $4.00! I quickly pay my $4 for my ‘shirt box’, escape like I stole something, and race home to look through my newest treasure.

I find 10 beautifully made blocks in some tissue paper, complete with the directions of each block made. It appears to be a “Block of the Month” out of Georgia. Should be 12, right? Awww, here are the other two, unfinished, but, the fabric and directions are there, each perfectly folded in a separate ziplock bag!

There is more in my treasure box, but you will have to wait for more stories on “Shirt Box 1”

Sooo… tidying up, I recently came across the shirt box again, dug it all out and finished her last 2 blocks of the month, added sashing, border and had it quilted. Here it is before the binding:

I know, not completely visible, but you get the idea. It is a 3D quilt; it has little ‘flappers’ (not quilted) in every block. You can see clearly on the top left block… the others… the heart’s circles, the butterfly’s wings, the flower’s petals… every block has ‘moving’ parts.

It will be bound in that beautiful blue soon and I will show the final product.

Why did I buy it? Well, I bought it because a precious quilter did not finish the project that she so carefully kept together and kept safe. Maybe it was an unfinished project (UFO) because another project interested her, with an urgency that only quilters at heart would understand.

Now what am I going to do with it, you ask?  I have no earthly idea. I will have about $100 in it - and the precious memories of how meticulous this lady was. She taught me to keep my UFO’s together with explicit directions on “next” so if someone down the line finds her blocks they know what is next. She taught me that no one loves her, like another quilter will, and that we can and should finish each other’s UFO’s so we can enjoy creations we did not make. My comfort zone is different than hers, but I did something new and interesting - and enjoyed it. 

She can ‘rest’ better now knowing one project is finished. Someone will treasure this quilt as I do, I just have no idea who yet. I will know them when I ‘see’ them. ❤️