Behind the Stitches: I'll Be Waiting
Some quilts begin with a design challenge. Others begin with a story.
I'll Be Waiting began with love. After losing her beloved Yorkshire Terrier, Spyger, a co-worker approached me with a quiet request — and what began as a simple favor became an honor to a family loved one and an award-winning tribute.
A Quiet Request
She had seen my tribute quilt honoring my own dog, Bailey, and wondered if I might create something similar for her sweet companion. Almost apologetically, she added, "I'll pay you."
What she didn't realize was that some quilts aren't about payment. They're about preserving a piece of someone's heart.
Spyger had been more than a pet. He was family — a faithful companion through life's ups and downs, and the loss left an empty space that only those who have loved an animal deeply can truly understand.
As I thought about the project, I kept returning to the poem The Rainbow Bridge — the comforting image that our beloved pets cross over into a beautiful place and wait for us there until we meet again. From that inspiration came the title: I'll Be Waiting.
The quilt would not be about loss. It would be about reunion.
Beginning the Portrait
The process started much like many of my collage quilts. I enlarged one of Spyger's photographs and created an outline drawing to serve as the foundation. From there, the slow work began.
I studied photographs of Yorkshire Terriers, consulted several collage quilting books, and began collecting fabrics that captured the subtle shifts of color in Spyger's coat. Creams, tans, golds, browns, grays, and deep navy accents were carefully chosen and cut into hundreds of individual pieces.
Like painting with cloth, each fragment became a brushstroke. The face emerged first. Then the eyes.
Then the tiny nose.
Finally, the playful expression that everyone who knew Spyger instantly recognized. The challenge was never simply creating a likeness — it was capturing his spirit.
A Rainbow of Memories
The background was designed as a celebration of Spyger's joyful personality. A soft rainbow illusion of pieced squares creates movement throughout the quilt, while radiant stars circle the little dog like memories shining around him. The colors echo the spirit of the Rainbow Bridge story and provide a vibrant contrast to the detailed portrait.
Hidden among the bright fabrics are some of my favorite details. The batik fabrics used for the stars were cut in ¼" strips and woven to create Spyger's collar.
And hanging from it is perhaps the most personal element in the quilt: a custom dog tag. On the front are the words: My Sweetest Hello, My Hardest Goodbye.
Turn the tag over, and the message continues: I'll be waiting at the end of the Rainbow Bridge.
That small detail inspired the title of the quilt itself. More than a memorial, it became a message of hope — a reminder that love does not end with goodbye. For those who believe in the promise of the Rainbow Bridge, it offers comfort that our faithful companions are never truly gone. They are simply waiting, tails wagging, until we meet again.
An Unexpected Journey
When the quilt was completed, it began a journey I never anticipated.
At the Brandon Piecemakers Quilt Show in November 2025, I'll Be Waiting was awarded Second Place in the Art Quilt Division. That honor alone would have been gratifying. But what happened next meant even more.
Among 100 quilts displayed in the show, visitors selected I'll Be Waiting as Viewer's Choice. For any artist, there is something special about receiving recognition from judges. Yet there is something even more meaningful about knowing a piece connected with people who simply stopped, looked, and felt something.
The quilt later received another honor when it was juried and accepted into the 2026 AQS Daytona Beach Show, allowing Spyger's story to be shared with an even larger audience.
The Real Reward
Awards are wonderful. Exhibitions are exciting. Acceptance into a national show is an incredible honor. But none of those moments compare to the real reward.
The day Meredith and her family saw the quilt for the first time.
The smiles. The tears. The memories. The recognition of a beloved friend brought back to life in fabric and thread.
That was the payment. And it was more than enough.
Because at its heart, I'll Be Waiting isn't really a quilt about a dog. It's a quilt about love that continues long after goodbye — and the hope that somewhere, beyond the Rainbow Bridge, a little Yorkshire Terrier is still looking up with bright eyes and a happy grin, patiently waiting for the people who loved him most.
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." — Anatole France
