TST # 13 - A Quilt for Farewell

This time I'm pulling out a quilt that was presented to a former boss on his departure from the firm for a two year sabbatical.  The story behind this quilt goes like this. 

This particular boss had been with the firm for a very long time, and would frequently invite his department to his island property for a get together. I thought it might be nice to present him with a quilt.   On one particular occassion I asked his wife what her favorite colour was.  She replied, “Blue.  Why do you ask?”  I responded that it was to be a surprise.   The company was going to host a “Bon Voyage/Farewell” dinner for him  and time was short.  I wasn't sure if I could get it done, but it was possible to have the quilt done with a bit of help.

Choosing an appropriate pattern and colour was easy; Eoin was originally from Ireland and because his wife liked blue, I chose A Double Irish Chain in blue.  I also decided that all the staff members that had at some point worked with Eoin should sign a patch to be added to the quilt. 

This was the front of the quilt.

The signature patches from staff members would be used for the back of the quilt.  In order to have them match up with the blocks on the front, it took some creative work with graph paper to figure out how large the signature patches would have to be.  As it turned out, they were a bit smaller than anticipated so sashing had to be used to make up the difference.

This was the back. 

It still needed a label, and I had to figure out how to incorporate one without disturbing the integrity of the patches on the back.  As it turned out the number of signature patches were short by one; the final label would fit nicely into the pattern in the lower right corner of the back. 

I was running out of time so the quilt was tied.  It still needed to have the binding sewn on.  What was I to do?  The quilt had to be presented that next day at the dinner planned for Eoin.  I hid in a boardroom somewhere and finish it while one of our firm’s assistants did an admirable job of “covering” for me.  Finally the quilt was finished and ready for presentation.

Eoin’s quilt entitled “Pieces of Double Irish Chain” front and back

Several years later I ran into Eoin and asked if he still had the quilt.  He stated that his wife would not let him use it except for special occasions, or when one of his children was ill.  Nice to know that it was still being used.