Celebrating Gordon

All my life I've been a cat person. Over the years, there have been many felines in my life, but very few dogs. Across the road at my family's Indiana cottage, a young man named Nick moved in. Shortly thereafter, we got to know both Nick and his puppy, Gordon. Gordon was a beautiful Golden Retriever that spent his days either chasing tennis balls, or holding them in his mouth.

Over the years he became our favorite visitor at the cottage. He knew where my aunt kept the extra tennis balls in the closet, where the doggy treats were in the kitchen, and always waited for someone to toss him a ball. Always a gentleman, Gordon never lifted his leg, he just squatted. This is something women appreciate.  My uncle spends hours working in the yard fixing bikes and boats. You can be sure, Gordon would be close by, supervising the repair activities.

He loved running down the length of the pier and plunging off the end into the water with a huge splash. He loved riding in Nick's pickup truck and going for boat rides. He seemed happiest outside. In his later years, he had trouble getting out of the water, so the lakefront neighbors had stairs or piled up cement blocks to make it easier for him to climb out.  He loved all of us, and we loved him.

On September 22, Gordon died at the age of 9. We are all stunned at his death. I can't imagine how Nick must feel. The only thing I could think to do, was to create a photo collage, print it on fabric and quilt it for Nick. Here is how the small piece looks.

Celebrating Gordon  a quilt by ©Ann Fahl 10.5 x 8 inches

I quilted everything with monofilament thread. I folded a strip of dark green and basted it on the outside edge, then bound the quilt with a tone-on-tone beige print that was about the same color as the siding on his house.

Detail of Celebrating Gordon

Losing a pet is such a devastating experience, I hope this little quilt will stitch up some comforting memories for Nick and all of Gordon's friends.

Because Nick is probably not a quilt enthusiast, I enclosed a easel from Hobby Lobby and a small piece of foam core board to put behind the quilt. This way Gordon's quilt can be displayed on a counter, mantel or table top. 

Ann