Pages

Monday, June 17, 2013

I'm back from Ireland!

What a trip. It was great. I am not ready to post about the trip yet, though. You can check out Bonnie Hunter's posts at Quiltville. She traveled with her laptop so that she could post on her blog as the trip went along. I only had my iPhone. Typing on that little screen really doesn't work for me. I will get my head pulled together and post some pics and ruminations about Ireland and the quilt festival in a few days.

When I last posted on June 1, I mentioned that I was going to a surprise birthday party for my big brother. He is in this photo on the left, with his hands on the shoulders of my younger brother.
This is actually the only photo that was ever taken of all six of the Larsen kids. It is the only time we were all together at the same time. Ever. I was too young to appreciate the moment when this picture was taken. My brother joined the Marines when I was six months old and before my younger brother was born. Older brothers moved out on their own when us 'tag along' kids were still growing up. You can see that I had four older brothers. Two are now deceased.
Here we are together on his birthday (Campbellsville, KY June 1, 2013). I think he is still handsome. You'll notice that he still insists on the Marine haircut.

His wife said 'no gifts' for the party. How could I not give my brother a gift on his significant birthday? That just wasn't going to happen. What do you give to someone who has everything he needs? I couldn't think of anything that was appropriate, until...

My Star Struck quilt returned from the longarm quilter. Perfect.
The color scheme is very patriotic. There is no one I have ever known who is more patriotic than my brother. In our family, he is a war hero. In Korea as a teenager, two tours of duty in Vietnam. USMC, retired as a Sergeant Major. We have always been so proud of him.

He was thrilled and speechless (and if you knew my brother, you would appreciate how significant that is) when I gave it to him.
You will notice from these pictures that the party had a Hawaiian theme. He lived in Hawaii for many years.
 I couldn't be more thrilled with the way the timing worked out. The quilt was in my hands for less than 48 hours before it was given as a gift. Happy birthday, big brother. I hope you have many more.


2 comments:

Karen said...

Your quilt is stunning. What a wonderful gift!

Marlene said...

Great quilt. Love the photo of you and your brother.