Flying Toast

There are no photos, only memories. And there are only four of us left alive who remember: Gramma's toaster had exuberant springs, so you never had to get up to get your toast. Gramma would listen for the tell-tale click, then the toast would sproing out of its slot and rocket across the breakfast nook into her up-raised hand. The cup isn't on the saucer because Grampa would pour his tea from the cup into the saucer, sip from the saucer, then repeat the process to the last drop.

Uncle Ed built the shelves for Gramma's 200+ plate collection, which overflowed into the rest of the house. Aunt Katie made the ceramic clock just outside the nook on the kitchen wall. And to this day, my dream house is a bungalow like Gramma's, with sunny, cheerful butter yellow walls that say "home" to me. Best of all, I inherited the toaster table, which is now in my quilting room! Made with love and memories of Gramma and Grampa Kirkpatrick, my mom, Aunts Katie, Donna and Mary, Uncle Ed and cousin Anne.

Materials: African print fabric that looks like linoleum that I purchased in central Africa in 1991 sparked the idea for this quilt. In 2005, I scanned the top of the real toaster table to make the fabric for the dinette set, and finally sewed up my memories in cotton, tulle, paint, pigma pen, tissue lame (ugh!), and threads from Superior Threads.

Size: 28x38 inches.
In the artist's collection.