Pam S

My Dad was an avid bowler until back and knee problems forced him to quit in his late 70s. About 25 years ago, when I lived in St. Louis, I took him to the National Bowling Hall of Fame. One of the pro bowlers had a quilt hanging on the wall there that was made by his mother from his old bowling shirts. Dad said somebody ought to do that with his old shirts. I wasn't a quilter then so I agreed and forgot about it ... until last spring. My Mom was getting rid of her stash since she no longer sewed so she told me to go into the closet in the spare room and see if there was anything I could use. When I opened the closet, there were several of Dad's old bowling shirts (unbeknownst to me at the time, there were twice as many in the basement!) and I remembered the quilt he wanted. So I loaded them in the bottom of a big shopping bag and smuggled them out of the house under a layer of fabric.
It took me all summer but I finished the quilt in time to give it to him for his 86th birthday in September. Four days later he had a stroke that landed him in a nursing home. My Mom was in home hospice care at the time but thanks to a wonderful, supportive husband and 3 surprisingly self-sufficient teenagers, I was able to spend 5 weeks 350 miles from home caring for her in her last days. And I slept under Dad's quilt every night.
When I was growing up, we always told Dad "Bowl 600" when he headed for the bowling alley so that's what I'm calling this quilt. By the way, he's doing pretty well with his rehab and should be home by the end of this month.