"A Hint of Heritage" Redwork Quilt
by Carol Godreau
Chapter 15
The
Quilter Speaks
When I came across “Redwork Radiance,” a 48” square quilt featured in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, I liked the quilt's Dogwood pattern because it reminds me of “The Dogwood Tree,” a song that my father, two sisters, and I had performed in church.
To the right, a photo of Carol Godreau by
Janine Gelineau
I had discovered a design on a 5” x 15” piece of paper in my grandmother's needlework basket. I decided to use that design to plan the outer border for my quilt. I also added four corner birds in memory of our parakeet, “Tyler,” a bird who lived to the age of 15. The quilt is a tribute to my grandmother, Eva Crockett-Knight, who loved embroidery and all kinds of handwork.
With other quilts in progress when I started this one, it took me five years to complete “A Hint of Heritage.” The three surgeries that I had within two years, impeded my ability to work much on the project. An accident had been the reason for shoulder surgery and a herniated thoracic disk completely flattened a nerve to my right arm. Yes, I am right handed!
During the long recovery period, I prayed for the chance to continue quilting. Hand quilting was great therapy! At first, I would do just a few stitches. Then, I was able to work for a few minutes. In May 2005, I was finally able to quilt for ten or fifteen minutes, and then up to thirty minutes at a time. I know all of the imperfections in my quilt. Threaded among them are my struggles, my perseverance, and my memories.
“A Hint of Heritage,” an 88” x 88” quilt made by Carol Godreau. photo by Janine Gelineau.
Carol Godreau is a member of the Building Blocks Together Quilt Guild, a chapter of the Greater Hartford Quilt Guild in Connecticut. She has served the group as Treasurer and Vice President, and is currently the Program Director. She has led the group in various service projects, including workshops to make “Quilts for Kosovo,” and “Quilts for the Victims of Hurricane Katrina.” She believes in showing her work, whether it be in a county fair or a juried national show. She “knows how much she has learned by viewing other artists' work.”
Employed at the University of Connecticut Health Center where she is the Syllabus/Copyright Coordinator in the Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine, Carol Godreau still finds time to quilt every day. In addition, she attends a once weekly quilt night with quilting friends Carolyn, Rose, Patti, and Sue. Carol is the mother of two adult children, Kelly and Keith Godreau.
In November 2005, the quilt was displayed at “A Quilter's Gathering,” a juried show in Nashua, New Hampshire. It was exhibited at the “Best of New England Guilds” exhibit at the New England Quilt Museum from January 21-April 1, 2006.
Note: The designers of the quilt, Betty Alderman and Cindy Taylor Oates granted permission for this quilt, which features their center design, to be published in this book. A third designer who collaborated with that design is the late Laurene Sinema. Their quilt was featured in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, (Des Moines, Iowa: Meredith Publishing Corporation, December 2000, Vol. 8, No. 6, Issue 47), 54-56.
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