Wednesday, November 25, 2015

The Heart's Desire & Quilt Finish


Have you ever wanted something so badly that it felt as if your heart literally hurt and ached? Usually such a yearning comes from the desire for personal relationships... whether it is a longing for a spouse, a friendship, or probably the ultimate of yearnings... the wish for a baby.


Before we were pregnant with our oldest son, we actually had a miscarriage. It was so early in the pregnancy that we barely had time to comprehend it ourselves, much less share it with family and friends. Even though the pregnancy was only in it's first weeks, the loss was still very real, especially since we had been trying for a while. After having gone through such a loss, I ended up coming out on the other side with a deeper understanding for others who have been hoping for, praying for, longing for, and even aching for that wee little set of ten toes and ten fingers to rest in their arms... and for some reason it just hasn't happened.


 
A while back a friend of mine had shared with me that they had been longing, hoping, praying, and aching for their own wee one... and for NINE years! There is a verse in Proverbs that sums up that very feeling... "Hope deferred makes the heart sick"... I so get that, I understand this, and I feel it. I especially get it for those that are in that place right now. Did you know that neurons have been discovered in the heart? With that being said, it sheds a new light on the depth of feeling that ache,

...BUT.....


... the turn in this story is that there is a "but" to the rest of the story! The verse in Proverbs doesn't just stop at the heart being sick part, but there is a second part of this Proverb... "but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life"... and the story of my friend does not stop there either! After nine long years of waiting, my friend has just welcomed her ten fingered and ten toed wonder into the world!


The really amazing thing is that just weeks before my friend had shared her news, I had started this quilt. I had no particular plans in mind for this project at that time, or even a particular recipient, but as I read through her announcement email, I then knew why I had started this. Sometimes you just know things in your heart before they happen, and only after the fact realize why your heart led you the way it did.

If you are, as they say in German, "built close to the water", then I'll give you your chance now to transition and perhaps grab a tissue, while I give you a few stats about my "Scrappy Windmils"/"I Spy" quilt:


Quilt pattern: "Scrappy Windmill" quilt from Judith Dahmen as featured in Issue 10 of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine.
Started: June 2015* (I had a three month waiting period for the batting. Otherwise this might have been finished sooner!)
Fabrics: Kona Cotton white and favorite fabric scraps from my stash.
Finished quilt size: ca. 50 x 60 inches (ca. 125 x 150 cm)
Backing: Zen Chic, "Swinging" and Julie Comstock, "Cameras", various scraps.
Thread: Aurifil cotton 50 wt white
Binding: Basic Grey grunge, grey  


Once the sun, moon, and stars had once again aligned to snap a few pictures, it was really fun for me to do a little "I Spy" quilt photo shot with our little guy. As you can imagine, he was all over the place like any normal three year old boy, and "can you put your leg down", "hold still", "no, don't jump" were repeated over and over again... but I think that in the end, he was a pretty good little model, don't you think?


He even pretended to take a nap on the quilt... (you can almost hear the fake snoring, can't you?)


With such an amazing story of a longing that has now been fulfilled... is it any wonder that this little bundle of joy's middle name is... Joy? Tickled pink happy for you, Jules! 


Do you have any long-time-in-the-waiting stories? 

Linking up this week with WIP Wednesday and Let's Bee Social.

13 comments :

  1. Ah what a lovely quilt and beautiful inspiring story to go with it! :)

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  2. What a lovely good news story!!! And what a wonderful quilt. Hearing such stories reminds me again how blessed we were with our children and still are that they are healthy and happy. Each time I sew a Project Linus quilt it gives me time to pause and think of those in a very different situation to myself. x

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  3. Congratulations to your friend and her family. What wonderful news! Your scrappy windmill quilt is so pretty and is such a treasure. Love all the photos..... Especially those taken with your handsome model. God is good.

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  4. The story of Hannah in I Samuel is also an encouraging one. It's a lovely quilt and I'm sure it will be well loved.

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  5. Oh my! "built close to the water", indeed! What a way to start my morning! Thank you!!!!

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  6. Bei solchen Geschichten habe ich auch sehr nah am Wasser gebaut ;-) Du glaubst gar nicht, wie ich mich über das Happy End gefreut habe!
    Wir haben in knapp vier Jahre drei Kinder bekommen - niemand, der uns davor nicht schon kannte, vermutet, dass wir 7 Jahren auf unsere Große gewartet haben...Ich werde diese Zeit niemals vergessen und ich werde auch vermutlich nie aufhören, unsere Kinder als Wunder zu betrachten.

    Dein Quilt ist wunderschön: bunt und fröhlich :-)
    Dein Model ist großartig - das Schnarchen hört man bis hier (kurz vor dem Erzgebirge) ;-)

    Liebe Grüße,
    Karen

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  7. The quilt is beautiful and perfect for little Joy! Your friend most likely is in baby bliss after nine long years...I love happy stories! My Aunt and Uncle tried for years and years. I often wondered what they thought or how they felt when my Mom had baby after baby and they couldn't. (yeah, she had 8 kids back to back!) Eventually their dreams cam true and had two beautiful daughters! I'm thankful, first that I didn't take after my mom ;), and very thankful that I have two wonderful children!

    Great post Allison!!

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  8. Bless.Your.Heart.
    So very beautiful for so many reasons! =)

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  9. dropped by to say "hi" from Let's Bee Social, loved reading your post, so full of happiness and, although I don't know her, I'm delighted for your friend. Your quilt just happens to be gorgeous too! - Chris @madebyChrissieD :D

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  10. What a beautifully written post. Love the pix with the toddler , too.

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  11. Welp, I sure am built close to the water, especially with stories like this. I'm so overjoyed at your friend's news, and I just love when things in life work out so meaningfully despite unsure beginnings. Gorgeous quilt,which I'm sure will be loved and cherished (and jumped on) for years to come. Your son did a great job with the photo shoot! I am ALL too familiar with little helpers!! <3

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  12. A lovely story with a happy ending. And a great quilt to go with it.

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  13. HUGE congratulations to your friend!! And congrats to YOU on another beautiful finish :-) (yay for sun for a photo shoot :-) and sweet little chubby 3 yd old hands!)

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