Quilt No. 158
June 2026
I generally do not do commissions, but a request - now that's something entirely different. How could a request ever be denied, especially one that you realize you've been waiting for all your life? Well, maybe not that long...but close.
A Facebook friend contacted me from the other side of the country to enquire if I would be interested in contributing some postcard sized quilts to their annual nativity themed tea, a fund raiser for Crossfield United Church. My drawer of picture fabrics rattled in the next room when I read that request. Did I have any nativity themed fabric? I did indeed have some very special nativity fabric. "Pick me, pick me!" yelled the anxious fabric.
I'd purchased a nativity panel to make a cloth book several years ago. The fabric designer had created such appealing characters! It made a very delightful little book.
I still had a bit of that fabric remaining. Another piece of nativity fabric came to me when I requested friends and relatives to send me a scrap of fabric for my Tree of Life quilt. One family had given me a panel of nativity-themed fabric. It was a wonderful reflection on our shared childhood memories of attending Mountjoy United Church in Timmins. While we remembered the same things about that time, we did not meet until years later. I had used a small part of their fabric to add leaves bearing their names to my tree. The rest was added to my nativity fabric collection. I had occasionally plundered this fabric to make a couple of 4x6" postcard quilts, but scraps of it still lived on.
That wasn't the end of sources of nativity fabric. During my many years working as a hospital librarian, I was lucky to get to know a great many wonderful staff members. One of them was our hospital pastor, Deirdre. She and I had numerous wonderful conversations, and she would frequently give me things she knew I would like - tiny stuffed snowmen, ceramic Christmas decorations, a grammar-themed sweatshirt, mini Muskoka chairs, fascinating newspaper clippings. Deirdre had enjoyed a long career as a teacher and school librarian, but answered a different calling after she retired. She completed a Masters Degree in Divinity. I followed her progress as she went through the steps to become ordained in the Anglican Church, a journey I had never before witnessed. While not a quilter, Deirdre did enjoy sewing and we often talked "fabric". Sadly, my friend Deirdre was passed away in 2023.
One night I was uncharacteristically organized and I arrived at our quilt guild meeting earlier than usual, almost the first one to arrive. A large box had been donated to the guild, a box of beautiful fabric. Most astonishing of all, it was a box of Deirdre's fabric that her family had thoughtfully given to the guild, a group she was not involved with. For me, it was like reconnecting with my friend, and I unabashedly went through the box, setting aside more than a few fabrics while choking back my emotions. I knew that Deirdre would have wanted me to have some pieces in particular. These included several fabrics that matched or duplicated fabric I'd purchased myself. And...it included another nativity panel! Deirdre was still showering me with gifts more than a year after her passing. Of course.
So, when the enquiry was made about the possibility of doing nativity themed postcard quilts, it linked all those many-sourced pieces of fabric and memories. I could easily dig into an enjoyable challenge. I am very fond of making these miniature quilts, and at last count I had made well over 300. These were used as various greeting cards, gifts, and occasionally were sold.
I offered to make six for the Nativity Tea.. As I communed with the fabric I found that I had enough fabric to make ten, no wait, twelve could be made! This left behind an endearing fabric piece depicting Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus. The larger scale made it unsuitable for postcard sized quilts. It was way too adorable to ignore! I decided that if I cut the scene out of the background fabric and added a new background with a stable, the little family would never again have to be stuffed into a drawer with a bunch of cranky fabric. And so, yet another version of The First Christmas was created.
As the small wall quilt and accompanying postcard quilts make their way across the country, I will be remembering my friend Deirdre, her intellect, her generosity, and her ability to still do good in the world she no longer inhabits.
