A very meaningful reversible quilt

A couple of weeks ago I finished a quilt commemorating 2008, the year I retired. It is throw-sized and will be a great memento to wrap up in when I'm reading on a snowy day. No matter how I wrap in it, I'll see something to make me smile.

During the fall of 2007, several retirement parties were held - at the Fletcher Memorial Library, Ludlow; the Georgia Public Library; the Olive Garden, South Burlington; the Northeast Regional Library, St. Johnsbury; Sean & Nora's restaurant, Barre; and our own Aldrich Public Library, Barre. All were great fun. When the events weren't surprises, I brought 3" muslin squares for librarians and DOL staff to sign. Jerry Carbone, librarian at Brattleboro's Brooks Memorial Library, offered the perfect title for the quilt that I put together, "Il dolce fare niente," which means "The sweetness of doing nothing." I grouped the signature squares together by event and the many little squares in between were scraps from various quilts I made over the years.

The other side of this quilt has signature blocks from "Janiacs" all over the world. These are people who are making Dear Jane-inspired quilts. Throughout 2008, I sent block D-13 to over 100 ladies and one man. In exchange, I was flooded during July with good wishes which I arranged more or less by color. I decided not to participate in the 2009 "siggie" exchange since we're moving and I have plenty of UnFinishedObjects (UFOs!) to work on.

We continue to look for a place to live but think we are getting close to making an offer. Meanwhile, sorting, tossing, contributing stuff to the Salvation Army and ReStore, giving stuff away via Freecycle, and other pre-moving stuff is going on here daily. There's a lot to go through!