The Hybrid....

Today was a fantastic day!! Oops, I should say yesterday was  a fantastic day as it is now just shy of 3:00am. I know, what in the world am I doing awake and blogging at this time of day?? Well, let's just say that Zumba is the culprit. You know Zumba, the Latin fitness dance craze - well I did a little too much Zumba on Thursday and hyper-extended my right knee to the side. After getting to sleep tonight the pain woke me two hours later and I am now sitting with a bag of frozen peas on my knee and waiting for the pain killers to kick in - so why waste time - blog!

lft to rt: Dad, Cathy, Mom. In back, Steve. In front my DH, Dave

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Anyway, on Friday (that would be the yesterday,) DH and I went to visit his parents, which also gave me the opportunity to meet his cousin and her DH (see picture, and lest we forget, DH and I have been married 29 years.) I know it's disgraceful that it has been that long, but I can honestly say that it seems like I've known Cathy and Steve my entire life. They are two of the loveliest people I've ever met. At dinner, I learned that Cathy and I both love quilts and this got the muse every excited. You see, the muse remembered that my gran taught me to quilt when I was young and if I do say so, my gran was a quilter extraordinaire. Stacks and stacks of quilts of her own design, awards from local, regional and state competitions. I mean these quilts will make you cry they are so beautiful. Then when my gran passed several years back, I received my favorite quilt from my childhood, "Grandma's Flower Garden." It was not the most elaborate, it was not of her own design, but it spoke to me and held sway over me my entire life. I was allowed to sleep under that quilt every time we visited Gran. It didn't matter if I had been naughty or nice, that quilt was always waiting to enfold me in its layers and keep me warm and safe. I would lay awake and count all the pretty colors in each flower until I finally fell into a peaceful slumber and although I wanted that quilt so badly, Gran always said that one day it would mine, but not that day. She meant of course after she passed, the quilt would pass to me. It was a long wait, 42 years in fact, but that meant that I had my gran that entire time and I would have gladly waited even longer to keep her with us just a few more years. Ah the sweet, sweet memories.

Grandma's Flower Garden

The muse made me realize that knitting brings up the same kind of emotions for many people. A sweater that we love as a child will remain our favorite even when we've outgrown it. The memories that are imprinted by an especially loved hand knitted item are strong and powerful just like the memories of my gran's hand-sewn quilt. So, why not combine these two lovely art forms and create a hybrid blanket - one square quilted, one square knitted - can you imagine the power that blanket would hold - the joy it would give to the receiver - I believe it could be truly magical!!!

Cathy and I talked about quilts that had been given as wedding gifts over the years and how special those items are to the couple. As I have mentioned before, my oldest niece is marrying her beloved this summer. I thought I knew exactly what gift we would give the happy couple, and then all that changed after talking to Cathy. I am going to make a hybrid wedding quilt - it will contain shades of white, ivory and cream. My knitted blocks will consist of the the "Tree of Life" pattern to represent the family tree and the quilted blocks will consist of differing designs that I still need to research. Each stitch whether sewn or knitted will be made with love and blessings for a long an happy marriage for Beth and Nick. In the end I hope that it will hold all of the magic that their love brings to life. I'll share pictures and the journey in future blogs as the project unfolds. Wish me much luck as I have had this epiphany only two and half months before their wedding day. For this I blame the muse, she is always coming at me with these ideas when the time-line needs to be fast-tracked in order to be completed on time. This time I'll give the muse a break as I believe myself to be as excited as she!

Thanks ever so much Cathy. Meeting you has brought joy to my life and I pray that this hybrid quilt will bring the same joy to Beth and Nick.

Peace and joy to you all....
The Green Girl