Monday, July 19, 2010

Our Village


Hilary Clinton's book, It Takes A Village, brought the phrase to the forefront but it's based on the African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child". Regardless of where the term came from, it makes perfect sense to me and is how my close friends and family have always been.

We're each other's "village" regardless of age, taking care of one another through thick and thin, good and bad, and happy or sad times. Plain and simple-- we can count on each other and there's a calmness that comes with the knowledge that we are never alone. For me, that is deeply meaningful.

When my niece, Queen M, announced that she and hubby were having their first child, our "village" was all a-buzz and very excited. Godson, his Mom, and I are the family members living the farthest away but we went straight to work plotting what we could do for our upcoming bundle of joy.

A few months back, I teased you HERE about a project we were working on for the newest member of our "village" and finally, I can show it to you.


Using fabrics I've collected for years, the three of us designed and made an "I Spy" quilt for the Little Miss to play on when she gets a bit older. We picked bright colors and fun fabric patterns to help teach her new words, images, shapes and colors while she's exploring the "village" in the quilt.


Godson came up with the round layout-- a cul-de-sac circling loved ones together, and selected many of the fabrics for the chimneys, windows, doors, trees and sky. I did the initial applique sewing everything together and Godson's Mom did an amazing job on the actual quilting.


The quilt is one small way of welcoming the new baby into our "village" and letting her know we'll always be here supporting her.


We're pretty proud of ourselves and the way it turned out, especially since we had no idea what we were doing and had never made a quilt like this before.

New Mommy Queen M loved it and her mother (my sister) promptly reminded me that more babies are expected in the family and we should start on the next quilt as soon as we returned to Los Angeles.


But even with the excitement of Godson and I being able to deliver our quilt in person and meeting Little Miss for the first time, we had one more gift-- A gift from someone very special in our extended "village".

The wonderful Sassy Pants Freckle Face, a great blog friend, sent a baby hat for Little Miss-- How sweet is that! Sassy knows how excited I am about this newest addition to our family and her generosity and kindness touched my heart more than I can express. When I told my "village" in Ohio about Sassy, they were equally as touched and appreciative of her thoughtfulness.


This sweet bunny hat will keep our baby girl warm and cozy this coming winter and will fit her perfectly by the time the snow flies. It was really an awesome gift and we all look forward to seeing the babe decked out in blog "village" love! Thanks again Sassy-- You're the greatest.

How's your "village"?
Welcome to www.TheFiftyFactor.com - Joanna Jenkins
Photo credit: Joanna Jenkins

46 comments:

  1. Beautiful quilt! A keepsake for sure.

    I have a pretty good village myself. Love it.

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  2. How sweet of Sassy to send a hat - and a cute one too!
    i love the quilt! It will be a treasured keepsake!

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  3. Oh wow, Joanna. What a marvelous idea. You did a fantastic job. It's absolutely beautiful.

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  4. Absolutely beautiful!
    My "village" is more like the Village People these days.
    Not that there's anything wrong with that....
    In fact, I kinda like it!

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  5. That is one gorgeous quilt!
    And Sassy is adorable.

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  6. WOW!!!!

    I am speechlesssss,... Holy Kindness,.. Thxs!!!

    That blanket seriously is the awesomest thing I have seen like ever, and to know all the thought that went into it,.. it is worth it's weight in gold!!

    Your village Rocks!!!

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  7. That is an outstanding quilt...it is sure to bring years of enjoyment to your "village" members!

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  8. The quilt is beautiful, well done and how kind of your friend to make that sweeti hat....:-) Hugs

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  9. What a wonderful quilt! It's beautiful and crafted with so much love!

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  10. I agree that Sassy is generous and loving. It sounds just like her to send something for a special baby. I was flabbergasted when you wrote that none of you had made a quilt previously. I was just showing the picture of the quilt to hubby and saying I could not make one, and then I read that this was your first quilt. Dang. This is one of the best quilts I have seen. And I can tell you I have seen many of baby quilts in our family and friends.

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  11. That quilt will deservedly become a family treasure. Little Miss will someday be proud to pass it down to her own Little Miss and it will, by then, show not only the love you put into it but the love of those who have used it along the way.

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  12. I think this is one of the coolest quilts I have seen. I hope it becomes a family heirloom.

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  13. my village is small, but beautiful...

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  14. That quilt is amazing! So colorful! And the imagery is fabulous!! Love the hat...good on you Sassy!!
    Some of my village got together this past weekend and did a ball game and a picnic!! We had a blast and our team won!! woohoo
    Hugs
    SueAnn

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  15. I totally want one of those quilts. That is very beautiful and has a great deal of meaning.

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  16. I would burst out in tears if I received that beautiful quilt!

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  17. Darn, I wish I was having a baby. I would love one of those!!! Can we just pretend?

    All three of you worked great together and it's a masterpiece.

    I love the hat too. She's going to look adorable!

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  18. Your quilt turned out just beautifully! I'm a firm believer in the village concept--I'm so glad to know I'm not alone when I reach the tough stuff or all the reasons to celebrate in my life: )

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  19. That quilt is absolutely charming and I could see the love in every stitch. What a very lucky little girl she is to have been born into your village.

    Anyone want to adopt an old broad? ;)

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  20. jj,

    that is so beautiful...i think the little one will love it...so much color and so much to see...big smiles!

    b

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  21. I just love you 'village quilt', I'm sure it will become quite the family heirloom to be treasured for years by generations to come. We have a few of those floating through our village. Ya'll did such a beautiful job. Little Miss is blessed to have such a loving village.

    Ya'll have a super great day!!!

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  22. Joanna, The quilt is amazing, such a wonderful idea, I can just see her playing with it. Our village is amazing for sure, kindness from your friend at such a thoughtful gift. I think we are surrounded by wonderful people. hugs my friend, so glad you got to deliver it in person.

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  23. Wow, the quilt is just fabulous! Love the detail and I can appreciate all of the time, effort, and love that went into it. And it was so sweet of Sassy to send the adorable hat. Cheers to your village!

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  24. What a beautiful quilt!! You can see the love that went into it's creation!

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  25. Oh my goodness! That is THE cutest quilt I've seen for a baby. What a great idea for the I-Spy. I may copy your idea one day. I have lots of fabric scraps piled up and wonder what to do with them.
    The colors, the pattern everything is just adorable. Great Job!
    Love the little hat. What a sweet gift from Sassy. Aren't blogger friends the best!
    ♥ Joy

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  26. Oh, what a very cool and very beautiful quilt. what an awesome present you made for the new baby. Very clever!

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  27. Beautiful quilt not just in quality, but due to its meaning as well.;)
    Have a great week,
    xoxo

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  28. I am a quilt lover but this one is priceless! What a wonderful idea for you all to work on together!!

    My village is fine, thanks. It takes all of them to raise me. All of them and more. :)

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  29. A fabulously thoughtful gift and an amazing quilt - I love it!

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  30. You have so many talents within your family! This quilt is wonderful! I am so glad you took the time to share with the rest of us. What a sweet story.

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  31. Oh oh oh oh oh I think I am in love....that is amazing..beautiful..I so want one...what a lucky sweet baby! Wow hon!!
    As a Mom of five with no relatives nearby..or close like this...I am so thrilled that you have done this..do you know how special that is..how wondeful that you are a village. How wonderful hon...amazing!
    The bunny hat..to die for..I love that too..so sweet she did that for your new little peanut!
    Hugs and love, Sarah

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  32. the quilt is beautiful and so much love is beaming from every corner... really beautiful :)

    and the hat... too cute!

    lovely to read of all the love you are sharing.

    best wishes
    Robyn

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  33. This is a post of love...I can see it, I can feel it...pure gold...

    BLOGitse

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  34. Beautiful quilt! I know there's a whole lotta work involved in quilt making, as my mother makes MANY, and is working on a table topper for me right now. Quilts can last for generations, so this is a really special gift.

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  35. That is just stunning! What an amazing gift!

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  36. wow- you are one talented village! it´s beautiful! i´m leaving here very happy:)

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  37. What a piece of art! That will be cherished for generations, no doubt about it.

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  38. What a wonderful quilt! I still have a handmade quilt that a friend gave me for my wedding 16 years ago. The husband is history, but the quilt remains.
    I just posted a blog about the "village" theme, as my best friend's daughter's coming of age welcomed advice from the wise women. Check it out and add your own advice. I'm collecting them all and making her a book. http://www.fiftyisthenew.com/2010/07/07/3891/

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  39. That's a gorgeous quilt. A cute hat too from a sweet sweet blogger.

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  40. That is such a beautiful quilt. Something to pass on through the generations. Sassy is awesome! One of the most generous people I know.

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  41. The American tradition of quilting is a wonderful thing. I love anything that is individually made by the human hand and the thought and care put into this just oozes love. What a lovely gift to treasure and if you're sentimental like me, it's something that would be kept for ever.

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  42. Your quilt is absolutely wonderful. So colorful and I love the layout and the lack of perfection. You all did a magnificent job.

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  43. The quilt is gorgeous and will be a family heirloom one day, you wait! The best gift of all.

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Thanks for stopping by and commenting, I really appreciate it.