Sew Thinky Thursday # 2

Its Thursday today, and its time for me to link up to Emily's Sew Thinky Thursday

 I designed that button for her! Isn't it cute?

Today she asked :  
What is the most meaningful thing you've ever made?

I did think about it for a while, but my mind kept going back to THE one quilt!





Last year, just after Diwali, my Brother-in-law, Ketan, informed me that the family business will be completing 100 years this year. He needed my help with ideas for celebrating it.

While thinking about those ideas, my mind kept going back to the photo of the person who had founded the shop, back in 1913! My husband's great-grandfather. I have really grown to admire him over the years. His story is an inspiration to all.

You can read that story here.

I did a lot of brainstorming about what gift I should give to my wonderful family on this special occasion. I knew I wanted to give them something meaningful, but I also had budget constraints, being out of work for quite some time!

Around that time, I came across this quilt by Sandra Bruce.

And I just knew what I wanted to do!

We had only one photo of Dada-ajoba (as he's known to the family).

I took that and started my adventure. My first idea was to pixelate the image and use 1" squares to make that image! The plan sounded great. But with the fusible that I had here, the joints were getting too thick. 

Change of plan.

I decided to do raw edge applique. It was something that I was comfortable with and knew I could pull off.

I got down to work and started off...

For the first few days, it looked like this...

I was a little worried that it might look like someone else... But it did not bother me much... Since nobody knew I was making it and I could just chuck it away...

But one night, DH walked in on me working on it. Though the quilt did not look anything like Dada-ajoba, there was this on the wall!

An actual size blown up photo. I had put it such that it was on the wall behind the door. The door was usually open and so nobody saw it. But that day I was working on the quilt and the door was closed since I needed to refer to it.

Oops!

I told him what I was doing and he was happy.

End of my happy days!

I was a nervous wreck ever after. All these years that I have been quilting, my husband never looked at it as more than a hobby. But now that I wished to make it my profession, I wanted him to take it seriously. Here was the biggest opportunity of my life. To impress upon him that quilting is not merely my hobby, but something much more serious.
And I was nervous. Now I HAD TO make it perfect! It HAD TO work. A lot was at stake. If the quilt did not look like Dada-ajoba I'd be disappointing not just myself, but also the person who is the most important to me in this world.

I got so nervous at a point that I did not touch my work for days at a stretch.

But then I gathered courage and worked on it. It really helped that DH was away for a while with his friends. I got a lot done on that weekend!

And in the end, the quilt was ready.

I had done it!
I had captured the expressions in the photo PERFECTLY! And I was so happy with it.


And now it was time for the big reveal!
Once again I was nervous. I invited BIL & FIL home one day even before the binding was put on. I knew if I did not have a deadline, I'd never finish it out of sheer fear! So they were coming at 5 in the evening. I was sitting with the quilt at 2, hand sewing the binding on!

But I got it done.

And they ---- well, they were speechless!

FIL made me move back and forth with the quilt so that he could look at it again and again... He was totally floored!

The best part was when he called up my Dad to tell him about it. My parents were so proud of me! And so was DH. He was beaming!

I'm so happy to have done this for my husband. I know Dada-ajoba means a lot to him. He is an atheist, he does not believe in the existence of God. For him Dada-ajoba is the person he believes in. He is God for him. And me making Dada-ajoba's portrait was the best gift that he could have got from me!

:)

I guess, I can never make anything more meaningful than this, can I?

Cheers!