Decades Quilt Top

I can’t stop thinking about trees.  I learn so many lessons from them:  deep roots, fruit, shelter,  No matter the variety, I’m amazed by their roots, their height and strength, and the reach of their branches.  How, exactly, does the genetic code of their seeds allow them to reach towering heights, live for decades, and continue to produce trees in perpetuity?  Season after season, year after year, for decades.  I created my Decades quilt design as a tribute to trees, as well as the lessons they teach us.  Today’s photos are of my Decades quilt top.

This year I watched a remarkable story unfold in my backyard, featuring my decades old cherry tree at the center.  Some sixty years old, I have never seen a tree put so much energy into producing fruit as it did this year.  As stewards of the tree for the last 18 years, we’ve worked to extend its life.  And never, in all those years, have I seen so much fruit.

Scarred and with branches drooping closer to the ground every year, we know our tree is old.  A hollow in the center of the base of the trunk, present when we purchased the property, has grown deeper.  We’re battling decay.  Perched on it’s sturdy limbs, my children spent countless hours in that tree.  We hosted parties beneath its branches, and enjoyed all our outdoor dinners there.  Now we protect it carefully.  No climbing.  I spent countless hours beneath it’s branches.  It was my hiding place for taking a deep breath to recenter and gather my thoughts.  In the spring, I spend time every day marveling at the smell of blossoms and the buzzing of hundreds of bees.  A tree dressed in promise.  Oh how I love this tree!

So imagine our sorrow when, on an early summer morning, a terribly loud cracking sound penetrated the house.  Pulling open the curtains, I could hardly comprehend it.  Half of the tree had collapsed.  Our dear, dear tree.  Thus began weeks of preserving as many cherries as possible.  Cutting wood.  Cleaning up.  And certainly blinking back tears at the now gaping hole in this old friend.

While studying the rings on the massive limb we lost, I found myself pondering the decades of blessings it had offered:  shelter, fruit, beauty, to name a few.  They reminded me about resilience and bending with the seasons, and producing good fruit, and directing energy to what matters most.  So close to collapsing, yet covered in good, sweet fruit.  This gave me fresh perspective as I near the decade mark on a particular journey in my life.  I want to be like my tree:  covered in good fruit no matter how weary I feel.  I want to deepen my roots, expand the reach of my efforts, and offer my best gifts.  

The Decades quilt celebrates all this with a large, modern take on the tree of life, on fruit, and framed by a vibrant border.  I wanted to explore the border of my Awake quilt a little more, and this was my perfect opportunity.

I shared my Come Round Right quilt top earlier this week.  Like it, I will also be teaching a class on making the Decades quilt at Sew Simply Stitched in 2025.  Decades utilizes several different piecing skills, including unique Dresden plate blocks, half square triangles, half rectangle triangles, and foundation paper piecing.  All of these skills will be taught in class and we are going to have FUN.  The retreat always fills up on the first day, so register right away if you’re interested.  I hope you will join us!