Week 26 Ladies' Wreath - Mourning for Mother

I wound up thinking about my mother and her wedding as I pondered my fabrics and blog entry this week. My sister was here with her daughter Niki, with the news that her daughter Tanya was just engaged.

My parents' wedding anniversary was back at the beginning of this series, during the first week of September, before I knew I was going to be posting so many family photos. So with thoughts of my mother, and Tanya, I looked at the photos and announcement from Mom and Dad's wedding in September, 1949.

Mom and Dad were married in a chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago. Mom had just earned her degree - her diploma is dated the 2nd, the wedding was on the 4th.  Mom made her veil and borrowed her beautiful ivory satin gown from Handa, a college friend, whose sister Helen also wore it. The three women remained friends all their lives, and the shared dress was recollected in a 2002 letter from Handa to Mom.

My grandparents, Fielding and Faye, Myra and Harry, and my grandmother Mary.

From the wedding announcement, we know that Faye wore a teal blue dress with black accessories and Mary's dress was brown with matching accessories.  Both had orchid corsages.  Mom's bouquet was white roses with an orchid center. The orchid was used in a corsage on her blue going- away suit, which I would guess she made. 

 

I know that Mom made her bridesmaids' dresses.  She saved a June 18, 1949 receipt for 26.5 yards of rayon that I suspect that was for these three dresses and more (her sister Loris' dress was probably 5.5 yards listed separately from the other 21 yards. The fabric cost her $12.79.)  The dresses are described below.

Talisman roses are a beautiful pink and orange, but I decided my Wreath could be made with Loris' yellow roses to fit in the William and Mary quilt.

I printed a free-to-use yellow rose, and combined it with two fabrics I used in the quilt I made for Mom and Dad that I mentioned in week 17 for the Mother's Delight block (seen at the link).  Both the green roses print in the two light triangles at the center, and the teal green orchid print paired with it were in the older quilt. As with the Week 17 block, I chose a music-themed print as music was always important to both of my parents.  Mom's brother Buddy, who also had a beautiful voice, sang "Because" and "The Lords Prayer" at the ceremony.

You may wonder why the block is called a wreath:  the wreath appears when the block is repeated and mirrored. This illustration shows how I could make a wreath of the yellow roses from four blocks like this one.