"Tree of Hope"

"Tree of Hope"

completed 2003

After posting the images of blocks created for Melly's quilt I started thinking about the above-featured quilt.  I have better images of this quilt someplace, but they certainly are not residing in my current computer.  This was a collaborative quilt created by members of a small guild I belonged to a number of years ago.  Susan Bradley and I created the central area with the tree.  Other members of the quilt guild made the background blocks, and we all created one or more of the border pieces.  Memory fails me as to the name of the background block, but it has to do with sisterhood.  The words on the border of the quilt are English, Spanish, and German words for mother, grandmother, sister, daughter, friend.  

This quilt resides in the lobby of the Wellness Center of the Cancer Treatment Research Center of San Antonio TX.  

As you can see by the ribbon, it won first place in the San Antonio Quilt Guild show, but was declined in the group category for the World of Beauty contest in Houston.  I might have pursued it again the following year, but we were anxious to install the quilt before the grand opening of the new Wellness Center at CTRC.  I love this quilt.  It makes me very happy that it is in a place where so many people can see it and be inspired by it.

The following images were taken when we first took the quilt to the CTRC and presented it to the staff:

Two of the nurses hold the quilt up to its future home on the lobby wall.

One of the staff, a woodworker, built a beautiful "frame" to encase the quilt

as a sort of "shadowbox", which protects it from light and keeps it secure.

Patients and visitors stopped to look at the quilt

Before we knew it there were people photographing the quilt.

On the day of the Wellness Center dedication, the quilt was covered with a beautiful drape and was "unveiled" as a part of the opening ceremonies.  It was a very emotional experience for those of us who had a hand in creating this piece.