Quiltingboard Forums - My 2 latest projects

The story's kind of long:
From 1997-2008 I was very active in the basenji breed, showing, lure coursing, breeding, and had made quite a few friends by traveling around the country, and up in Canada. We did very well, and I had plans for the future in the basenji world.

Then, I was in a car accident that resulted in a TBI, but unless I tell people, they can't tell now. When I had the accident, my son, Ben, was in the Navy's nuclear propulsion school down near Charleston (I'm in Ohio), and somehow it was arranged that he would come up and see me. I guess they weren't sure I was going to make it, I don't remember, I was in a coma.
I surprised quite a few doctors with my progress, and always felt I'd like to some how 'pay it forward' in appreciation for what the navy did, but I didn't know what?

Then, I heard of the Quilt of Valor organization, and since the good Lord decided I would retain my sewing ability and desire (but I had to learn how to eat????), I thought that might be the thing. So I did a little internet research, and it just seemed a lot of people would be depending on me to do things at certain times, just too much pressure for my brain. I don't know why, but that's one of the after effects of the TBI, I can't function well when I feel like people are depending on me. I wasn't ready for all that yet.

About 7-8 years ago I sent one of my females down to a gal in Virginia, to be bred to her boy(sending her one of my girls in itself shows how much I like and respect her)

So about 9-10 months ago she mentioned on a basenji list we are both on, that her son got hurt. a TBI one of the injuries, over in Afghanistan, by a roadside bomb, and his wife is an angel. I don't know the details of that but since then I've found out he is 90% disabled, has a government job, his brother is in the service, and his dad is career navy.
He and his wife would be my 'project,' no pressure, no time restraints, perfect.

So I set to work, chatted a little bit with another breeder to find out he lives close to his mom too. So I sent the quilt to her because I figured it would be kind of weird for them to get something sent from someone they never met in Ohio. Then I got to thinking - the Mom! I know how I worried about Ben being in the navy and he came out unhurt and educated, and cannot even imagine what she went through. I felt a need to show her that her sacrifices are appreciated too

She got a basenji quilt. I used the Let Sleeping Dogs Lie pattern, just switched the heads a bit to be basenjis, and used the 5 colors that basenjis come in. They are originally from Africa, so I used some African prints, and in lure coursing they chase the bunny (really, a plastic bag) so I added that too. It's based on the Snail's Trail block (In fact, the girl I sent down there was bred to her male that was half African)

Oh, I found out her son has a basenji too, so I added a couple of subtle basenjis in the stitching on his quilt.