Mr. E’s quilt is finished and delivered. The class presented an REI gift certificate and the quilt on Thursday. There were plenty of tears to go around. Mr. E appeared to be slightly choked up and us moms jumped right in. It doesn’t take much for me. Combine my kid with the end of a great school year and there you have it. I’ll cry a river.
This was Mr. E’s first year. In fact, he was hired 1 week before school started after the scheduled teacher quit at the eleventh hour. It’s really tough to teach and I don’t think anyone expected huge things, given it was his first go at it. We were all blown away by his kindness, enthusiasm for the art of teaching and his ability to connect with all our kids. I’m still feeling very lucky and thankful.
As far as the quilt went, I think he really liked it and wasn’t just being polite. He told me his mom was a quilter. That she had just built a studio at their house. He said she was just beginning to experiment with adding images to her quilts and he couldn’t wait to share it with her. His dad led the paper marbling project for my Mother’s Day gift. I think I see a connection here.
We’re off to celebrate Father’s Day with Barry Bonds. We’ll take the ferry over and walk to the stadium. Our routine consists of hot dogs, garlic fries, Ivar’s clam strips, a pale ale and cotton candy for the girls. Greg is a huge Giant’s fan so having them in town this weekend couldn’t be a better gift on Father’s Day.
The back of the quilt:
And a label (I actually sent my copy to Megan for review, I have nightmares about making a grammatical error on a quilt label, she gave me the A OK so on it went, thanks darlin’!):
I’M getting slightly choked up! This is hands down the nicest teacher gift quilt I’ve ever seen. And the label on the back is so touching. Lucky Mr. E!!
Wow … great quilt! And it’s so nice to encourage the good teachers to choose the teaching arts as opposed to other “lucrative” private industry careers. Mr. E must have been a great teacher indeed.
That is awesome! What a wonderful gift that he is sure to treasure forever!!
Just beautiful, Kathy. Well done!
that is such a fantastic quilt – i love the way you desinged it and even how wonderful the back looks. beautiful job.
Wow, it looks fantastic. And it’s so great to give a handmade gift to someone who recognizes the time and effort such a gift requires. What a great example to your kids too, that a great teacher is something to be appreciated.
What an incredible gift!
The finished thing looks fabulous. I hope you got a lot of satisfaction out of giving it. And I hope the other mothers gave you a great big fat thank you too!
That is so special that his mom was a quilter – he must appreciate it so much. That’s great that you put a piece on the back for hanging. It turned out so nicely – great, great job.
What a wonderful gift. I’m sure he will cherish it forever. You should be so proud!!
This is such a fabulous gift! The nicest gift I ever received as a teacher was a potted geranium, so I know this one totally would have made me cry as well!!
I love the bright colors, also.
A truly fabulous gift! He’s so lucky to have received this work of art from you
So glad it was so well received. The quilting looks even more impressive from the back! And love your label, all of it, but that ruler border is a very nice touch. I seriously need to upgrade my labeling…
Kathy, the quilt is fabulous! I’m really in awe. I mean the whole project, such a wonderful and amazingly generous gift. I was almost a teacher. I thought that was my life’s calling until I had to take a higher paying job as a receptionist (with a college degree) to put my hubby through nursing school. Anyway, long story, but I can imagine what this means to Mr. E and how it will keep him going through the times when he works his butt off and doesn’t get much appreciation, but a lot of criticism–and you know those times will come. But this gift will be there to remind him why he keeps going and keeps giving. Wow.
Merveilleuse idée et réalisation sublime, bravo ! bravo !
What a wonderful quilt! I bet Mr E’s mother will shed more than a few tears when she sees this!
Kathy, This quilt is another work of art. I loved the way you positioned the children…it takes the quilt from ordinary to spectacular. You and the other parents have validated Mr. E.’s decision to be a teacher. Your support will stay with him forever. In the field of teaching it is always wonderful to be appreciated for ones efforts….it is what keeps one looking forward to the next year with enthusiasm. Dad says, “What a gift. He will cherish it for the rest of his life.” We love you.
Wow, this quilt is an amazing gift! A wonderful and long-lasting way of telling him that he did a great job, and that you and your children are thankful for it. I can imagine very well that there were plenty of tears to go around!
This is really just the most amazingly thoughtful & beautiful gift. So glad your school found Mr. E and I bet he is too!
What a tremendously thoughtful, gorgeous, heartfelt gift.
Tomorrow is my daughter’s favorite teacher ever’s last day at daycare/preschool and I wish I’d thought of something like this a few (or six or twelve) months ago.
You really are truly amazing, this quilt for the teacher and the dolls quilt for the children.
that is absolutely fantastic! he will always cherish that quilt. what a wonderful gift for the teacher and the maker?!
Nice quilt! What a great momento for him.
[...] Since completing Mr. E’s teacher quilt, I’ve been mulling over ideas for making mini-quilts with the individual self-portraits. I hope the other parents are as excited as I am in how this turned out. I’m going to offer them on a commission basis. It measures 10 x 11 inches with a small hanging sleeve on the back. [...]
I absolutley love it!!!! My son’s fifth grade class wants to do something exactly like this for a school auction this spring… do you have a pattern you recomend or any tips? Like what medium did the kids use to do the self portrtaits? Would you ever consider doing it on comission? It looks absolutley beautiful!!!!
I could not tell how the self portraits were done. Could you explain the process or a book? It looks as if the children colored on paper and then you transfered it. I have done something similar with taking the children’s art and then reproducing it in fabric by applique. It is very time consuming but I used the ideas in the book called Refrigerator Art Quilts. You did a wonderful job.
This is amazing! You are very, very talented. As a wife of a teacher – I would faint if my husband brought that home – from JOY!
[...] end to an amazing trip, I proceeded to my gate where I met Margaret Miller (anyone remember the Mr. E Quilt? I used Margaret’s book Smashing Sets to design the setting). We chatted all the way to [...]