The world’s greatest husband had a birthday. To celebrate this milestone, I completed a project for him that I had started several years ago. Yes, it was a project in progress for a while.
I had collected some novelty fabrics and made 9” Ohio Star blocks. The working title for this project was Things Jim Likes. Construction stalled when there were some categories that had to be included but were difficult to find. Fabric with cameras, birds, maps, were some of the most elusive. I put everything in a box and put it on a shelf until I could collect more fabrics. By everything, I mean a diagram of the quilt I had designed in EQ7, notes to myself about the possible sashing and setting triangle fabrics, and a list of themes I had and wanted to add.
When I would find fabrics that were appropriate, I added them to the box, and time marched on.
As this birthday approached, I decided that this would be his “three score and ten” gift . Yes, he walked in the sewing room several times while the blocks were on the design wall. And, no, he didn’t realize what was there. I worked as quickly as I could with them on the wall, and I lied a bit (ok, a lot) about what I was doing upstairs in the weeks before Christmas. (His birthday is December 26 – the design wall photo was taken Sept 23.)
Once assembled, I knew I couldn’t hide it long enough to quilt it myself. And, it’s big and would take me a long time. So Dewey Godwin became my partner in secrecy and did the quilting in record time. Knowing the theme and seeing the trains, Dewey incorporated a railroad track into the border. Perfect!
While I was working on this, Jim was playing Amanda by Waylon Jennings with a line “finally made 40 and still wearing jeans.” There’s where the title came from. Not 40, but still wearing jeans.
My partner, my assistant, my musician, my photographer, my soulmate now has a new quilt of his own. And, just in time for the coldest weather in a very long time. It works at nap time in front of the tv.
Some of the things represented are cameras, lighthouses, scientific instruments, football, windmills, Christmas lights, birds, travel, the great outdoors, banjos, guitars, railroads, geology, the US Army, and even sharks (those represent the years he taught Oceanography and dissected sharks in his lab, gaining notoriety for the smelliest classroom at school).
The patchwork back is made of fabrics whose motifs wouldn’t fit in the star design, but fit the theme.
For email subscribers, here is a photo of the whole quilt. It measures 65″ x 80″ . For more detail, go to the website and click on any photo to enlarge.
Sandy, this is your most emotive and evocative article yet. You are such a gifted artist and a beautiful person, as is Jim. I count it one of my life’s greatest privilege to have known you, even if only briefly. May God bless y’all always.
Kind words, Lamar. Thank you!
Really great piece, Sandy. Love the striped binding and dashing. Miss talking quilting, gardening and everything else with all y’all!
Thank you! We miss you, too, Kathleen!