Love as Fabric Hearts

When my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, I wanted to get them a special present, but I was a grad student with very little money.  I was rich in fabric scraps, so I created 25 hearts, sewed them onto a piece of muslin, and did some quilting.

Fifteen years later, I made another panel.  Ten years later, I made another panel.  Yesterday, I finished another panel that celebrates their 60th year of marriage.  The last panel includes some hearts made out of crocheted yarn.  When I started this project, my sister wasn't crocheting, but now that she is, I thought it would be cool to include hearts from a different kind of fiber art.

I planned to assemble the quilt when I visited in May, but her crocheted strips were delayed in the mail.  When they arrived, my mom sent them to me in North Carolina, but by then, our home repairs had reached a messy phase, so I didn't want to risk working on the quilt in that construction zone.  So, earlier this week, I bundled it all together and brought it with me to complete.  Yesterday, I took advantage of a quiet afternoon, and voila!

I have been touched that my parents have treated this project as a work of art and a treasure.  It has always had a place of prominence on their walls.  Here's how it looks in the larger context of their bedroom:

Yesterday I reflected about how I have learned to work with the heart shape in fabric.  It's not an easy shape, with its curves and points.  Here's an example from 1987:

And here's a later one:

I love these little hearts as a metaphor for love and long term relationships.  Some of them are made of traditional calico, while others are made out of fabric with different patterns and shapes, and later ones are made of crocheted yarn.  Some of the hearts are bigger, some smaller, and others are a bit disfigured.  But when we look at the quilt, they fit into a standard pattern.  Some of the quilting is erratic, some of it is elegant, but all of it functions the same way:  holding the quilt together.

All of this can work well in any number of metaphorical ways, as a way of exploring what and how we believe about love.  It's also an interesting way of thinking about time, especially as I approach my 35th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

My spouse texted, "We've been married for 7 rows."  Wow.  May we continue to have the luck my parents have had, luck that keeps love strong and relationships intact.