Streak of Sunshine

One reason for this blog was to note my progress in quilt making, and part of that means revisiting the past. I've talked about my first and second quilts here and here.

My third quilt, not counting wall hangings, was a baby quilt for my niece Shaina's first son, Brayden, born in October 2007. Since I had waited until September to start it, I needed something that would go together quickly. I discovered the Quiltville site and thought Bonnie's "Streak of Sunshine" quilt would do nicely.

Once I had it pieced together, however, I had no clue how to go about quilting it. Feeling a bit panicked, I took it to a local quilter who had a shop in town at the time. She had a several-month waiting list, she informed me, but said that under the circumstances, she would work it in. I was so grateful! That's how I met Sandy, who has been my go-to longarm quilter since then. She came through in a short time with a nice overall panto on the baby quilt.

A couple weeks later, finished quilt in tow, I was on my way to meet up with Shaina and the new baby at my parents' house about 15 minutes away. As I drove, it started raining. Then a rainbow appeared--a double rainbow, actually. I could see the end of it ahead of me on the road. How often does the rainbow's end appear right in front of you? I fished my camera out of my purse and snapped a couple of pictures as I drove. The colors of that rainbow mirrored those in the baby quilt I was about to deliver.

Just a few miles further, the rain turned to hail. I pulled the car off to the shoulder briefly until it passed. I thought about the weather, and life--how quickly things change. Both beautiful moments and pelting storms, sometimes in rapid succession, come and go as we travel our path.

I don't know if my niece saw the metaphor in the weather that day. As a new mom, she was busy finding her way through one of life's changes.

Really, though, aren't we all?