Danny's Project

It has taken me a full year to finish this commemorative. If you were  reading this blog  around a year ago, you may remember that my sweet nephew, Danny, had the illness of schizophrenia take his life. It changed him so hard and so fast. All of his life he was his momma's baby and a sweet, sweet boy. Then about the age of 20, things started changing, and life for him and his family became something they never predicted, expected, or deserved. I am not going to relive those sorrows but only want to commemorate the memories of his sweetness in a younger time and his love of the outdoors.

After Danny's funeral my brother and his wife called me aside and asked me to do them a favor. Could I make something beautiful to commemorate his life out of his favorite jacket? Of course I said yes and prayed for the guidance to do justice to their request and honor their son. In a box by mail came an old brown hoodie with a striped knit lining and elastic waistband and cuffs. It smelled like Danny, a combination of his beloved dog and cigarettes with probably a bit of fish bait thrown in. I couldn't cut it. It went back in the box. It was too much. My mind became busy with ways to use the jacket but I just couldn't face it. Then about two months into it I made myself start the project. First I washed the jacket and then put my feelings aside. I had promised and I needed to honor that promise.

I had loads of ideas and tried lots of techniques. You all know I am the big sampler. Bit by bit the work evolved. Sometimes I couldn't face it but most times I knew what I had to and wanted so much to do. Would they like it? Would it be what they wanted? Would they be disappointed? How could I make it about him? It was totally intimidating but as it progressed I became more excited and more creative. Danny loved the outdoors. He was passionate about fishing, often with his big brothers and in one of the many lakes where they live. I had lived nearby growing up and knew right where his favorite fishing holes were. I tried to mimic them with their glassy rippling waters and the tall pines and maples that were their circumference. What you see are my efforts. I will go through a bit of what I did to make this happen.  Please ignore the creases from the required bubble wrapping for travel. It all ironed out beautifully and flat.

The water was randomly cut strips of 100% cotton. Some were actually the wrong sides of prints. The pieces were laid down on a muslin backing and appliqued raw edge. The whole lake was covered with tulle and then topstitched to secure it all down. From there I could build out the landscape and sky.

This is the bottom right corner with my signature. The trees and shrubs are also raw edge, some of them the lining from his jacket, and again topped with tulle and stitched on the edge to secure. The only actual quilted area is the border. This was not an effort to make a quilt but more of a wall hanging.

The sunset was felted onto a pale yellow piece of  cotton. I used all sorts of colors of roving.  The tree trunk you see on the left is the elastic waistband of the jacket. The far gray mountains are jacket and the beach edges are the lining.

Dear cyber friend, Martha Broyles of Southern Matriarch, kindly let me hijack a poem she found to commemorate the loss of a young one on her blog. Neither of us know the original author unfortunately. I printed it on grey organza, wanting an ethereal effect. It required the dark underlay to bring out the black print, sort of the opposite that you would think would work. Again that raw edge applique which I think is a more masculine touch.

 I also put a label on the back with a bit more info and the poem written out again more clearly.

Saturday while we were on Cape Cod I presented the wall hanging to his parents. They had no idea of what I had made for them. It was a very emotional moment for all of us there but when I saw my brother sitting stoically in all his handsomeness with tears rolling down his face I knew I had done OK. Some things in life you just gotta do.........Bunny