Making it up that hill!

I climbed up a hill in West Kerry, Ireland. This was my 3rd ever quilt, I made it for my sister using a Fat quarter bundle from Nikki at the sewing shed www.thesewingshed.ie

I watched a youtube video and made the blocks and then made sashing and half square triangles as a boarder. I didn't realise you could buy a quilt pattern at this stage, I had been in a quilt shop once and I used a sheet for the navy background. It probably took me six months, I was working full time, I had a 3 year old and a 1year old, so life was busy.

Fast forward 3 years my little girl aged 6 climbed a big hill, my sister Louise came with me and we took these photos.

photos: (i) The top of chruach Mhárthain, with the beautiful patchwork of West Kerry and the view of Ferriter's cove and Ceann Sibeal. (ii) My little girl didn't believe it would be freezing at the top so she used the quilt to keep warm, you can see Cnoc Breainainn in the background.(iii) Just me with my short post chemo hair holding a quilt up a hill!

You may ask why would you bring a quilt up a mountain? Well it was 6months after I finished chemotherapy and needed to prove to myself I could do it. My body didn't like it but I needed to do it for me. Cancer was not going to win, I intended on climbing a higher mountain but it wasn't possible, my poor body needed something manageable. This photograph doesn't show that I could bearly walk for 2 days after. That I had to take a lot of breaks on the way up but it does capture how happy I was to have made it. Quilting is my way of recovering from breast cancer, sewing pieces of fabric together with love for hours and giving them away seems nuts to a lot of people but it makes my soul happy. I love procrastinating over the patterns and fabric colours. The mathematics of cutting and then the peacefulness of piecing the fabric and pure joy of finishing a quilt top. I've recently learned how to free motion quilt, another part I really really love.

Photo: An Blascaod Mór, An Tiareacht, Inismhicaoibhleáin, Beginis and the Blasket sound between the end of the Dingle Peninsula and the Blasket Islands. My little girl having a rest on the top of Márthain using her aunty's quilt to keep warm.