The possibility of constructing a double wedding ring quilt using watercolor blending had been at the back of my mind ever since completing the watercolor Lone Star Variation, however I was not planning to make a large quilt anytime soon. At a Quilts on the Rocks meeting the merit of real quilts (read as full-size bed quilts) was discussed in the context of different quilt styles and sizes and their elegibility to be judged. It was at that moment that I realized that I would not be seen as a serious quilter at my guild until I had displayed a real quilt. So I decided to make one as my Right of Passage into the guild, to be completed for the show in October.

The double wedding ring had always been my gramma’s favorite pattern. She gave me the only quilt DNA in the family and has taught me much over the years. Any quilt show we attended, she would gravitate to the wedding rings and check them for matching points, smooth curves and small quilt stitches. Every time she saw one she made it clear that it took an experienced quilter to successfully piece and quilt a wedding ring. She herself had made at least a dozen that we have record of.

To this point she had admired my small quilts and hangings but I knew she was waiting for me to make real quilts. I had played with her wedding ring pattern on smaller projects so when I decided to take the leap to a large quilt I chose this pattern as my Right of Passage in my gramma’s eyes.

I pieced the top, borrowed my gramma’s long boards for the quilt frame and set up the quilt with my mom’s help- I had never mounted a full-size quilt alone. Mom told gramma about the pattern and the size and the watercolor blending and gramma was so pleased.

My gramma passed away a week later. She never got to see my quilt. She left behind a legacy of real quilts for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren made over the last 60 years. She left behind an album of awards and ribbons. And she left me the greatest gift- the ability and the knowledge to continue where she left off- to supply the baby quilts, the wedding quilts, and the utility quilts that have comforted our family for so many years. Thus my true Right of Passage.

Now my quilt has bigger stitches than I wanted, it has been bled on and cried over. It is definitely a real quilt.

Daintry

June 9,1997