Kate's quilt

 My husband is great at volunteering me to do things for other people.  I don't mind, but sometimes it isn't what I want to do or he doesn't realize how much work it is.
This past fall my husband volunteered me to make a quilt for his friend's mother, Kate, who is in a nursing home.  He told me she needed a quilt for her lap while she was sitting in her wheelchair.  Okay - what size would that be?  After asking a few quilters if they have made a wheelchair lap quilt before it was decided that probably a baby quilt would be the right size.  Now I don't make small baby quilts - they are more like twin bed size.  I want the child to be able to drag that quilt around and wear it out.
I purchased fabric in pastel colors that I thought would be good for a 95 year old woman and pieced together a quilt top that I thought might work.  I gave the unfinished quilt to his friend and asked him to put this on his mother's lap to see if this size is good.  At this point it is easy to add or subtract a row.
Well, a couple weeks later he returned the quilt top and said that she already had a lap quilt and would like this for her bed.  Great - we went from a lap quilt to now a bed quilt.  There was no turning back.  What did I need to do?  He asked if I could add another row to make it longer.   After adding the row I had a long skinny quilt.  I knew this wasn't right so I asked him if I could put another row to make it a bit wider too.  He replied, well that is what it needed but he didn't want to cause me any more work.  Anymore work - if I was going to finish this quilt it better be right.  So I cut up more fabric and made it another block wider.
After quilting and binding it - it was now December.  I had enough extra fabric from the backing to make a matching pillowcase.  I placed the quilt in the pillow case with a bow and a Christmas card to give Kate as a gift.

Kate with her bed quilt

Well the quilt was a hit.  Kate's son told me that everyone who comes to the nursing home she takes them to her room to see her new quilt.  At night she asks the nurses to fold the quilt, put it in the pillow case and set it on the chair.   In the morning she asks them to please place it back on her bed.  Her son said that there isn't much a 95 year old woman can get excited about - living in a nursing home, but this really meant so much to her and put some bounce back in her step.  I have never meet Kate, but maybe when the weather is nicer I'll get that opportunity.

So as much as this seemed like a pain I am so thankful to my husband for volunteering me.   I was heart warming to know this quilt put a big smile on her face.