College Bound Quilt

As I've said before, I'm over the teenage girls at my church. Along with the other adult women I work with, we adore these girls. We're a small group and have become very close over the past several years. But suddenly, they're all growing up and moving on. Moving to different states, going off to college...sigh. The line "Everybody's changing and I don't feel the same" in a song by Keane keeps going through my mind.

My niece, Meg, is also heading off to college this month. She's going to Brigham Young University (BYU), which I also attended, and which is also where I met my husband. I've been thinking about my time there a lot since I've been working on the above quilt to give her. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... 

 

I distinctly remember my first day on campus. We'd driven to Utah from California and it was time for my parents to head back. It was very early in the morning (my dad always liked to get an early start) and gray outside. I remember standing in my pink terrycloth robe and as my parents drove away I started to cry. There were only a handful of girls in the dorm and classes didn't even start for another several days. It was quiet and a little lonely. But soon, more students arrived, activities began, I met my husband, classes started and I had the time of my life!

 

Blogs are about truthfulness and honesty, right? Well, here is mine. I was kicked out of BYU after that first year for bad grades. Yeah, I'm not real proud of it, although sometimes I share it like I am. There were SO many things to do and no one to answer to! And when you meet someone special, well, let's just say classes took a back seat for me. But, just so you know, after my husband and I were married, I did go back to college and graduated cum laude. That's something, right?

Anyway, here's a quilt for Meg made from Michael Miller's Gypsy Bandana line. It was a dual effort with my mom. She cut and put the top together and I quilted it. It screams to be kept in my home, but alas, I shall part with it.

Because the fabric patterns are so bold, we just went with large blocks, almost as if you had several gypsy bandanas and sewed them together.

And a coordinating pillowcase!

So, Dear Meg, Good luck this year! Go to class and study. You'll still have plenty of time to hang out with friends, meet boys and discover all there is to discover at BYU. It's an awesome place and you'll love it! This time is yours to discover who you are and what YOU want your life to be. Your mom can't decide that for you anymore. It's up to you and anything is possible. We love you! -Aunt Leslie

I drafted this post before I saw Meg today. In giving her the "go to class/study" pep talk, my mom reminded her to not make her aunt's or her mom's mistakes. She replied, "Why would I want to make someone else's mistakes? I'm going to make my own." Yeah, she's a smart cookie.