A TIME TO TEAR AND A TIME TO SEW ......

A TIME TO TEAR

AND A TIME TO SEW

 Eccles. 3:7

Christmas 2014

The Christmas Shirt Quilt is not just sitting on a shelf, lest it get worn or frayed
 from being used.
The fabric in the quilt was already faded and well used when each piece was cut into squares ... the buttons loosely, held on to this or that shirt, were removed and set aside,
a splash of paint or stain ...a blob of something unrecogizable ,
some faded, other thin patches of denim intricately sewn into place
 alongside flannel once worn for warmth by a hardworking, tractor-driving ex-sailor.
The Christmas Shirt Quilt
spreads over the top of the guest bed awaiting the next friend or relative who comes to visit. The story of the Christmas Shirt Quilt never grows old...
how Jill carried her Daddy's shirts home in a plastic bag,
washed and ironed each one .... but finding it too difficult when it came time to
cut each one to be pieced together into a quilt. She enlisted others to begin the cutting.
Friends and relatives helped ... some with tears but always with enthusiasm
that this small part of the man
would be preserved
to provide
warmth
coziness
 and 

memories...... for those he loved  .......
after all  ......... this quilt is only a part of what we have left,
tucked away in our hearts
of a
deeply loved
funny .... sensitive .... complicated and strong
man.
If you come for a visit the quilt will be there
and you'll sleep comfy and warm beneath it.
Merry Christmas, 2014
............................

Christmas gift, 2011!

What can it be?

"A quilt ..... a handmade quilt!"

"It's made out of Daddy's shirts ..

flannel and denim,

the shirts you gave me when you......

cleaned out his side of the closet."

"I remember this one .... I have a picture of him wearing it ......and Melissa beside him

helping to build the barn ....and this one driving the tractor ..... and he wore this one so many times - it has paint on it!   And the buttons ....?"

"They were from all of his shirts, Mom."

"Oh Jill ......

"Do you remember this shirt, Mom?"

"Mmmm ..... "

"I couldn't cut the first shirt into pieces for the quilt .... my

friends helped with that ...."

"Thank you, sweetheart!"

"I can almost feel his arms around me ....!"

Thank you

my wonderful children,

and Jill's friends and family

for helping to make this beautiful memory,

"Eldon's Shirt Quilt"

Memories are made

from swatches of

our lives,

gathered together,

some painfully cut,

but pieced back together

to create

a covering

to hug us

when we're sad,

or fold across our lap

when content,

or to stroke

the patterns

and rest a hand

on one very special moment.

There is a time for every purpose under heaven ......

Eccles.3:1