The Heart of the Matter

This entire time while piecing, stitching, tracing and embroidering, the heart idea never left me. Even though the quilt was visually "full," it felt wrong to leave the heart out. The heart was part of the original composition. More importantly, nearly half of the classroom had wanted it.

One idea was to hide a tiny heart and in the miasma of the patchwork, kind of like an I Spy game. But a small heart didn't feel right, either, because there is nothing small about our kids. They laugh often, give big hugs, run like puppies (still), and tend to be very loud when displeased (oy). These kids of ours needed a big heart. 

As luck would have it, there was one final student who had yet to work on the quilt:

Even though this heart of ours wouldn't be displayed in full view for everyone to see, it would be front and center on the back of our quilt. 

Unable to miss it. Loud even when quiet. Just like our kids. 

Whispered Words

It wasn't difficult to execute that poem of ours into a tangible, handmade creation. It took a bit of transfer pencil, an iron and a whole lot of embroidery.

At first glance, you might even miss it.

But the result is a beautifully organic and subtle border that speaks ever-so-quietly about sleep.

So let's take a tour of these gentle words...

Upper border:

Right border:

Lower border:

Left border:

Helping Hands

Embroidering 30 words onto the border of our quilt was no small feat. I was very grateful for all of those peaceful moments during one of the most hectic times of the year. And I was grateful for those 16  kids who helped: