Quilt for My Advisor

On the eve of my dissertation defense (the final step of getting my PhD), I can't help but feel a little bit nervous and a whole lot of gratitude for all of those who have spent countless hours teaching and mentoring me to get me to this point.

The process of getting a PhD is very much an apprenticeship where one learns the art of research and scholarship from their advisor, and I have been extremely fortunate to have an amazing advisor. He has been patient and encouraging when I've struggled with my research, reminded me to celebrate when things went well and was incredibly supportive when I decided to pursue a career outside of the faculty-track.

I wanted to get him a gift, but I had no idea what to get him until I ran across this post on Greenleaf Goods. She had made a beautiful quilt for her advisor and I realized that a quilt would be perfect for mine as well. It would be personalized for him and the process of making it allowed me to reflect on my time in grad school as I sewed the strips together, quilted the top and hand stitched the binding.

And the product is my new favorite quilt. I'll be sad to have it leave, but I'm so thankful that I was able to give my advisor a gift that was made with my own hands. For me, it's the only gift that comes close to expressing how truly grateful I feel.

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Quilt details:
- Inspired by this quilt and this quilt
- 48"x 60"
- Fabric from Parson Grey's Curious Nature line with Kona O.D. Green
- All over stipple quilting with straight lines around the log cabins and along edge of stripe