Guardian Angel Quilt

Now this quilt has a real history behind it! From 1994 to 1996 I sponsored a 12 inch square swap on the Prodigy on-line network. Each participant chose favorite colors. We traded with 1 person a month, and these were the rules:

We had to use our partner's favorite colors... but we could add any other colors we liked. We could piece by hand or machine, do piecing or applique. We were all to use our imaginations!

There were about 30 women in the group, from all over the country... Florida, California, New York, Texas etc. We became very close, and began to pray for each other. Many in the group were going through very difficult times.

We all had nicknames too! Mine was Imagination's Child. I had the privilege of helping many of the others pick on-line names. We had Wild Rachel, Mermaid, Princess Puddinghead, Hummingbird, etc.

One day Mermaid posted a note saying that she just knew that she had a guardian "angle" who helped her through rough times, not realizing that she had misspelled "angel". Well, one of our members with an eye for detail, and a great sense of humor, couldn't let that one pass. Within the day she had posted a note that read: Every quilter needs a guardian "angle"!

The pun, of course, was that angles are very important in the construction of a quilt. And since some angles are more difficult to stitch than others, it wasn't a bad idea to have an angel looking over one's shoulder to offer guidance, or to offer consolation when we had to rip out a bad seam!

After this play on words, our group became known as the "Guardian Angles." I designed an angel logo, which "Cornflake" had silk-screened onto T-shirts along with the words, "Guardian Angle On-line Quilters." The off-center angel medallion in the quilt above was our angel. I originally designed her as a 12 inch square for one of my partners.

This quilt is no longer a part of my life, though it graced a bed in my home for years. When many victims of Katrina moved into Texas after that traumatic storm, I was moved to take it over to the shelter and give it to someone. The people in charge would not allow me to take it inside, and said they couldn't accept it - BUT, they would allow me to give it to someone who was sitting outside.

There was an elderly woman to whom I was able to give this quilt. It warmed my heart to see the pleasure on her face to receive this quilt. Under the circumstances, it was also very special to her to hear the story of the quilt's creation. I expect that it is now considered a treasure in her home.