Tree Of Hope

A professor I know from my post-graduate years and who helped me a lot when the going was rough has been fighting cancer for several years. He's about to get a bone marrow transplant and more chemotherapy in the coming weeks. I've stayed in touch with him since my graduation almost 3 years ago, and when I heard about the transplant, I decided to send him a little something to show that I'm thinking of him. I'm not all that good with words when it comes to sad occasions (you should have seen me struggle with a condolence card I was writing for someone else yesterday), so I did what I'm good at: quilting.


I opted for a small wall-hanging - if he likes it, maybe it'll brighten up his hospital room for him!
I zig-zagged around each leaf and the stem to hold the pieces in place.

Next, I added a bit of swirly quilting for some movement in the quilt - could be wind swirling around the tree?


I used black backing fabric...


... with the different colours of thread I used, the quilt is almost reversible :)


Because of the light background fabric, the quilting really stands out from the shadows that are created - I like that effect a lot!


Often such trees are called trees of life, but he already has life, so I'm calling it tree of hope, since that's what I hope he has lots of!
I hope he likes it and that it adds some happiness to this tough time. While I was making the quilt, I also mused about the connection of transplant and tree. I think I chose a good metaphor for the whole situation, wouldn't you say?