An Irish Blessing for a Friend

I'm finally back home for a few days after a very busy couple weeks of teaching. Those trips are always a good time to get hand work done and I was able to get the binding finished and most of the bead work on the front of Ricci's quilt done.

The backs of my quilts are special...some of my students have nicknamed them
"Cindy's Petticoats". Remember when you were a little girl and you got the new doll for Christmas? What was one of the first things you did? Lift up the dress of course to see what was underneath! That's exactly what a lot of my students do with my quilts because they know I have added some wonderful details to the back. My quilts tell stories too...I document both happy and sad memories, inspirations, quotations, births, deaths, etc. that may have happened during its creation.

Ricci bought this linen in Dingle, Ireland on 9-11-01 and she asked me to quilt this for her. I felt this linen held both happy and sad memories and have documented them both.

When I sign a quilt I will often type up and print out what I want to say on Microsoft Word and then place the typewritten page underneath the linen. This keeps my handwriting centered and straight. I use a Micron pigma pen for the inscription.

The rod pocket on this quilt was created by cutting off the end of an unfinished pillowcase. The signature linen was created from an ordinary table coaster. I documented the event by only referring to the date. I turned the tragedy from that day around by adding an Irish Blessing.

The inscription on the pillowcase rod reads:

"Vintage linen purchased by Ricci Lindley in Dingle,Ireland
September 11, 2001
Machine quilted by her good friend, Cindy Needham
March, 2009

The inscription on the coaster reads:

An Irish Blessing for a Friend

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers~
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours~
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!