Item SKU: 26250
*The Quilt
Sleep my child and peace... peace... Covered in love and keep... keep...
I was thinking about metaphors of quilts. A lot about protection. A quilt makes us feel safe and warm. The rows of even stitching showing the passing of time, a meditative rhythm — like quieting and rocking a child. It takes time and patience. I wanted the quilt and the rocking to be one. The sentiment reveals this rhythm also — lullabies don’t have to make literal sense ... but the cadence of the words is lyrical and soothing. The warmth and coziness of a sleeping child — the tender connection — these quiet memories exist in anyone who has ever rocked a child in their arms.
Your Stories 
As soon as I saw this I knew I wanted it for my daughter. She has left home for the first time but this will remind her how I will always be there for her.
As a child she had many bad ear infections and while we were waiting for her medicine to work sometimes a long time we would rock in the chair watching Fantasia. She would eventually fall asleep and I would stay there holding her rocking not wanting to break the spell.
Submitted by Glenda in Merseyside, April 2012
My friend, Michelene, had longed for a grandbaby. When little Emma Carline came into the world, the family was thrilled. But it was not easy for anyone in the family (including Emma!) You see, her mama carried her only 26 weeks, 5 days. She weighed a mere 2 pounds, 13 1/2 ounces. With tubes "everywhere" and special round-the-clock care, it was to be quite a while before Emma would be going home. Her daddy gave her "Carline" as a middle name because it means "champion." I saw two lovely pictures on Facebook, each one a photo of first her mom, and then her dad, holding the baby for a short "skin-to-skin" session. Physical touch is so important for babies, and I realized how precious it was for these parents to be able to hold their new baby close to their own hearts. When I saw The Quilt figurine, I knew I had to purchase it for them. I'm happy to say that Emma is now 6 months old, a little doll, 11 pounds, and the joy and delight of her family!
Submitted by Kathleen in California, February 2012
A very special young man by the name of Caleb gave me a very special Willow Tree piece for Christmas this year.
You see, I was supposed to be doing the giving, and this sweet young man took his hard earned lawn mowing money and bought me this precious and beautiful gift. It is called "The Quilt." I made him a quilt this year--not a patchwork quilt but a Fleece Blanket Quilt, the one that you cut and tie around the edges. Every cut and tie was done with so much love, because I consider this young man my son even though our blood types do not match nor do we look alike. But he is my youngest son. So when I opened this Willow Tree, the tears just flowed because he too, gave me a quilt that was given with so much love. I have several Willow Tree pieces but I have to say this is my favorite. Thank you for taking the time to create these wonderful pieces full of love. May God Bless You!!!!
Submitted by Lisa in Missouir, January 2012
Ever since I was a very little girl I always have had a close relationship with my grandmother. I can remember as a small child, curling up in my grandmothers lap as she sat in her favourite rocking chair. Ever since she passed away, I felt that a piece of me was missing, as most people who lose loved ones do. A few years ago, at Christmas time, I received a gift of a quilt. This quilt was quite special, the outside had been re-done by my closest aunt but the inside was made by my gram. I sleep with that quilt every night, as I cannot sleep without it, even as a young adult. This year for Christmas, I received this particular Willow Tree called "The Quilt." It brought back all of those memories as a child and also made me appreciate my quilt even more than I did before.
Submitted by Brianne in New Brunswick/Canada, December 2011
I have been collecting Willow Tree pieces since I first saw them in a store many years ago. We have a 15 month old grandson with a fatal disease, Menkes. It is very rare and his symptoms were not recognized by the healthcare professionals in the critical first 10 days of his life even though he was in the NICU. We pray we will have him for many years but the fact is that typical Menkes boys die within the first 3 years. My greatest joy at present is to swaddle, snuggle and comfort him when he is upset. And his parents say that "Mimi's" touch works every time. They bought me the Willow Tree piece "The Quilt" for Christmas. It has touched me to my very soul. Thank you for this creation. If you would care to learn more about Menkes or would please ask any healthcare professionals you know to become informed about the symptoms, please visit www.milesformenkes.com.
Submitted by Ginnie in CO, December 2011
When my husband Peter was 50 years old (and I 44) we had our only child together, a baby girl, Grace. I gave him the "New Life" Willow Tree figurine which was so symbolic of us. Then at the age of 55, Peter, seemingly fit and healthy, died unexpectedly from a heart attack leaving me to face life without him and bring up our precious daughter alone.
Grace pined hugely for the father she adored dearly. I held her as she wept in her sleep every night for six months and held her on my rocking recliner with her snuggy rug around her by day as we comforted each other for most of the next two years.
The next Willow Tree figurine I bought us was the "Mother and Daughter" figurine which was quite symbolic of our new life.
We were in our favourite gift shop when my now seven year old called to me, "Mum I have found us," and sure enough, she pointed out "The Quilt" which was so "us." You see when the tears stopped (not entirely) Grace and I had continued the habit of me holding her, sometimes for very lengthy times just as a comforting way of reconnecting and watching TV, reading a book and finally Grace nodding off to sleep on my lap.
It was once symbolic of our sadness which then turned to one of comfort and happiness, it is so "us."
Submitted by Linda in QLD, August 2011
My two-year-old son was diagnosed with a malignant tumor at just six weeks old. Thankfully, he is miraculously in great health today, and though it was the most difficult time of my life, this particular figure ("The Quilt") speaks volumes of some very special moments I shared with my little boy. Even though I was helpless in his situation, all I could do was sit in the hospital in a rocking chair for hours and just hold him. The love a mother has for a child is unconditional and beyond verbal expression.This figure is very dear to me.
Submitted by Marcella in FL, June 2011
I wrote this back in November of 2010, and then when I saw this piece I knew I had to add it to my collection. Today I am thankful for rocking a child in a tattered blue blankie to sleep, which doesn't seem in and of itself very much to be thankful for unless you really start to break it down.
First, I am thankful for the child. Some who want children are unable to physically have them. Some who can physically bear them aren't allowed to keep them, either by God's design, or by earthly regulations that they haven't been able to manage. Some meet their child in the most unusual circumstances, and then must wait months or years for them to come "home." Some struggle for years to have a child, while others (myself included) seem to just be able to reproduce without a second thought to it. So I am thankful that I have been blessed with this beautiful, joyful, healthy child that impacts my life on a sometimes minutely, sometimes hourly, but always daily, basis.
Second, I am thankful that I am the one doing the rocking. I am blessed with a husband who has a job. Not just a job, but a job that pays well enough so that we can manage for me to stay home with our kids. There are many qualified home daycares and daycare centers, and they can do a fabulous job of watching our little ones when we are not able, but when it comes down to it, they aren't Mom. Mom has a different feel, a different smell, a different hug, a different snuggle, a different touch--and sometimes it just *HAS* to be Mom.
Third, I am thankful for the chair. Yes, it's a physical object. A chair. But it is also so much more. It's a safe refuge with a loving family member for a tired child. It's a playground at times. It's an altar where prayers are raised. It also means that I have a home that I can keep my chair within. A warm, stable, housing environment that my child is living in and growing in under my care everyday. Many, many people don't have that. Many kids are always in transition, moving from one parent's home to the other, moving with their parents as they seem to have no other option than to sleep at the homes of friends or family, or if things get really bad maybe even sleeping in their parents car.
Fourth, I am thankful for the tattered blue blankie. I know, it's another physical object. But again, it's so much more. This particular blankie was given as a gift, nearly ten years ago to my oldest child. It has been a cape, a tent, a picnic blanket, and many other incarnations in its life so far. It was well-loved, and had been put away in a closet, not forgotten, but out of sight. Then, when my youngest child was born, the original gift giver could not find an acceptable blankie for the new baby. She has always given these particular blankies as a baby gift, and was upset that the newest child would not have one. So I pulled that tattered blue blankie out of the closet, removed the frayed & worn binding, and with the meager sewing skills God has blessed me, replaced that overly loved binding with a brand new binding. The tattered blue blankie had been given to a new child to drag it through the house like Linus, to wrap in its soft comforting familiarity, and to love it to pieces once more.
Lastly I am thankful for the rest that the child is receiving. Not only is it good for him physically and mentally, it is good for me too. To be able to take that few minutes, where he is winding his fingers in my ponytail, slobbering the word, "Hair" to me around a hand-me-down pink binkie, as his eyes grow heavy, and his breathing slows, to just sit there and be reminded of just how much I have to be thankful for.
Submitted by Melissa in MI, May 2011
I made my first quilt for our son right after his first birthday. I cross stitched a note to him on the back to ensure this would always be a special keepsake. My husband came home with The Quilt one week later as a Mother's Day gift. This is a new, dearly treasured addition to my collection.
Submitted by Jessica in CO, May 2011
My Willow Tree Collection started 16 years ago when a student gave me the child holding the heart. I was hooked. I now have over 60 figurines ,including the entire Nativity set. I get them as gifts as well as give them. We have three boys, and our middle son Connor loved the Nativity set and loved setting it up for Christmas. He was an artist himself and loved the Willow Trees I had. On 2-17-09,at the age of 12 Connor died after 10 days in the hospital due to Phumonia, staph, MRSA. The first Christmas without him was so painful I could not get the Nativity out,and then the 2nd Christmas I just had to get it out and set it up in his honor. So now it is displayed in our home year round. In November of 2010 I was blessed to meet a woman, Pam,who lost her son Jantsen and wrote a book called Jantsen's Gift. God sent her into my life to my aid and rescue, and she asked me to go to Ghana with her. She and her husband have an organization called Touch A Life that rescues children from child trafficking. I went with an amazing group of women, two of whom for an entire year made quilts for all the children. They put their names on them and a scripture. While we were there we got to be a part of a rescue of two brothers, Gideon and God's Way. The ladies had only one extra quilt and so wanted to give it but not leave the other brother out. Well, I had brought my Connor Quilt that a friend had made with Connor's shirts and with his name on it. It just seemed right to give it to God's Way, so that night both boys got a quilt. Connor would have wanted that. Two weekends ago a dear friend of mine gave me the Quilt Willlow Tree. She said it represented all those nights and days I rocked Connor with his blankie,and the Quilt of Connor's I gave to God's Way. She said both boys are safe and saved. Thank you for making these precious Willow Trees. For more info on my son,see, rondeal.org/Connor's Song, and for my trip go to TouchALifeKids.org
Thank you,Nan
Submitted by Nan in Texas, April 2011
For every grandchild that enters her life, my mother-in-law buys the new mom a Willow Tree figure. I now have four on my mantel. When my husband and I adopted our second child, he was 18 months old and had had a very traumatic start to life (drug/alcohol exposure, abuse, etc.). For the first year of the adoption, I would literally spend hours every day rocking him. I still call him my koala bear because of how he snuggles right into my arms. When my mother-in-law gave me this figurine to represent his adoption, I almost broke down in tears! While all four of my ornaments are special to me, this one will always hold an extra special place in my heart.
Submitted by Heather in BC, April 2011
My husband gave me "The Quilt" figurine for Valentines Day this year. I couldn't hold back the tears as I read the name of it because it reminded me of the quilt my mother made for me many years ago and we call it the "Mamaw quilt". My mother died July 27, 1991 and I felt like it was her way to tell me Happy Valentines Day too. I have many of the figurines and cherish each one as they all have a story to tell.
Submitted by Sherry in Texas, February 2011
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