Thursday, March 26, 2009

#6 Ah-Yi's quilt

My parents both came from large families. My dad has 6 siblings and my mom has 11. I have 2 aunts that I call by name because they also have immigrated to the United States or Canada. I see them on a fairly regular basis and we have a close relationship. My other relatives, I may see once in a blue moon. I usually refer to each aunt or uncle by their title and their birth order. For example, I call the oldest male sibling, #1 Uncle. This drives my cousin Tommy crazy! He grew up with all of them and have closer relationships with them and calls them by their given name. When he speaks of an uncle or aunt by name, I always say, what number is he/her?

My parents just left to visit relatives in Taiwan and China. My mom wanted me to make a quilt for my #6 Aunt who is battling bone cancer. She didn't want a lot of black or white in the quilt. Red and gold is often used in a lot of Asian decor because it represents wealth ,long life and happiness. I found a panda print that wasn't childish and was really pretty and framed each square.
The red border fabric I used had flecks of gold also.


Here's a close up of the panda. The seal behind the panda means long life.
I hope my Ah-yi enjoys this quilt more than my dad did. When he saw it, he said "You made that? I think I saw a blanket like that at WalMart". Umm, he really has no clue.
*Ah-yi is chinese for aunt.








2 comments:

  1. That's really pretty-- and I understand the family reactions. My grandpa said, "You spent way too much time on this blanket". Oh well, right?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am sure she is going to love it. Great job.

    ReplyDelete