Endurance Quilt Block Goes to London

Endurance Quilt Block Goes to London

Awhile back I started a series that I knew would be a personal project that, for me, would last a lifetime. I called it “Grounded: A Quilt Block Series” and it was based on combining flooring patterns that I love and admire with the grounding feeling I get when I sew.

At the time I had no idea how needed this grounding would, and continues to be for me. The time I’ve spent alone cutting and stitching while thinking about various spaces has seen me through some hard times.

Stacked up in my sewing room I have a pile of blocks and quilts all with stories that I think I am ready to share.

And so today, l’d like to start at the beginning…with the very first block…the one that started me on this journey…The Endurance Block.

(You can get the full tutorial for making this block HERE.)

The block is based on flooring from Earnest Shackletons famous ship “The Endurance”.

This ship set sail in 1912 on an expedition to Antarctica. But later, when the vessel became hopelessly encased in ice, the real adventure began. (To read all the amazing details about this voyage you can click HERE.)

However, before leaving on this infamous trek Shackleton’s headquarters were located in London, England. So when I knew I would be getting a chance travel there I got to work on creating an entire quilt inspired by The Endurance.

I took the quilt to Covent Garden…a place my grandmother would have loved. It is a darling spot in London with a favorite restaurant (Din Thai Fung), a favorite pastry shop (Ladurée), lovely shops, and the courtyard where Audrey Hepburn was filmed in My Fair Lady.

The night I took my quilt touring was cold and bright. Christmas decorations adorned the facades of every establishment and the smell of caramelized almonds floated through the air.

We ate fish and chips at an old pub and I tried roasted chesnuts for the first time ever. (The street vendor who sold them to me laughed when I asked how to eat them…and couldn’t believe I had never tried them before.)

It sounds magical. And it was.

That night as we walked the streets of that charming area…my brother, my daughter, and I…we talked about the magic in the air….and the feelings of peace and gratitude we were experiencing. We also talked about some of our unhappy memories, our personal struggles and wondered if those dark times helped to make this particular night feel even more magical.

There was a moment standing on the cobblestones, watching my daughter and her uncle mosing along and laughing that I started to cry.

As juvenille as it sounds, I suddenly, painfully missed my grandma.

I wanted her there, eating macrons, and talking about My Fair Lady. I wanted her there spilling the tea about everyone in the family. And I wanted her there giving my daughter unsolicited advice about life, love, and everything else.

My grandma was, in many ways my Earnest Shackleton. The one who was always brave, knew how to pull together a team, where to find resources, wasn’t afraid to navigate difficult waters, and who never let anyone perish. She was a captain, a leader, a force of nature…and in that moment I missed her more than my heart could bear.

And so there in the middle of the square where Eliza Doolittle sang:

All I want is a room somewhere
Far away from the cold night air
With one enormous chair
Oh, wouldn’t it be loverly?

I thought about how loverly it would be in that moment to be have my grandma with us again…and I had a good cry.

Right there, with my brother, and daughter, roasted chestnuts and that quilt…I cried it out.

Grief is an interesting companion and you never can tell when she needs to speak.

After the cry I crouched down and took this photo:

I wanted to remember that moment.

The happiness. The sadness. But most of all the gratitude.

Because sitting with sadness was also, unexpectedly, gratitude.

And, there was so much gratitude. Gratititude for the opportunity to be at Covent Garden. (I was in London during the holidays!). For the gift of family who is willing to share in my joy and my sadness. For the miracle of having my grandma, someone so wonderful and powerful, in my life. For my brother willing to adventure with me. For my daughter who is strong and funny and willing to take photos of her mom with quilts in public. For a warm stomach full of fish and chips. For comfortable shoes. For a clear night. For a lifetime full of memories….sweet, painful, good, and bad…….For all of it.

The ship this quilt was inspired by was christened the Endurance.

Up until that night I had always thought of the word endurance with a sort of negative connotation…as in to endure hardships…to just make it through…to struggle but ultimately survive. Things to applaud, to be sure, but that must all come by way of rough seas and sorrow.

But then a definition I had written in this post , months earlier, began to float through my head:

The definition was this:

Endurance: the quality of lasting, continuing, or remaining

the quality of lasting, continuing, or remaining

As I mulled this definition over a new idea began to take shape. One that includes not just the act of continuing when times get tough…but also of continuing to love, honor, and be grateful for the people and the memories that have helped to shape us…memories that can warm and encourage us during the times we are struggling to stay the course….the times we need to endure.

Love can last. Love can continue. Love can endure.

And love can help us endure.

With that thought we walked into the shop my Grandma would have loved most and ordered ridiculously delicious macrons.

After that we headed back to our room somewhere, far away from the cold night air…with one enormous chair…and yes….it sure was loverly.

Some day in the future, when the night is dark, cold, and not so clear. I will curl up in this quilt, remember this moment, and take comfort in knowing that love can endure.

-liZ