My inspiring brother

I am posting about my brother today. He is a very inspiring person, both as an artist (he is a writer and guitar player) and in terms of the perseverance and bravery he has demonstrated in all that he has faced in his life. He has been sick off and on for about 25 years due to a congenital illness (arterial vascular hemangiomas) requiring numerous surgeries over the years, resulting in a permanent traech tube, which causes him untold suffering in his struggle to eat and breathe.

Here is a photo of us from a couple of years ago. (Don't look at my "post-tobagganing hairdo"!!) This is the photo mosaic quilt I made for his birthday based on photos that I took of him writing on the beach. I used Ami Simms photo transfer paper to transfer the photos to fabric. I cut the photos into squares and rectangles, and added in some commercial fabrics that fit the colour scheme and theme of writing. (See blog entry from Jan. 23 where I talked about making a quilt for another one of my favorite people using the same technique). In the border around the centre photo, I wrote (free motion machine quilted) the names of his four favorite poets.

He is quite sick again and I am sending him lots of loving and hopeful thoughts for a quick, non-surgical recovery from his recent symptoms.

My quilting time this weekend has focused on getting myself organized for a quilting retreat (Monday to Wednesday). What to take?? What to take??? How many UFO's can I work on in 3 days? How much sleep do I really need?