Chapter 7 - Tony – Red, White, and Blue
Ziva found the star-themed fabric on sale on one of the family trips to the fabric and crafts store. The backgrounds were in red, white, and blue with tiny white stars randomly scattered on the red and blue fabrics and tiny red and blue stars on the white fabric. The small shapes appealed to her in a way she could not explain. Once she had the three cuts side by side, the idea for her husband's quilt fell into place.
The patriotic theme fit right in with Tony's long career in law enforcement and working for the US government in various capacities. Counting his years with the various police departments, when he retired at the end of the current year from FLETC-Cheltenham he would have thirty-eight years of service, twenty-nine of them with various Federal agencies.
Ziva cut the fabric into three-inch wide strips. She sewed the red and white strips together on the long edges, making a diagonal striped pattern with the two colors. She sewed the blue strips along the long edges as well, but the overall direction of the strips was horizontal to the quilt top.
On a fabric shopping trip with the boys, they found a police-themed print that Ziva decided would be perfect for the backing of Tony's quilt. LJ liked the print so much he bought extra to make neck pillows for his father, Uncle Tim, and Grandpa for Fathers' Day.
As with Tony working on Ziva's quilt, Ziva used the time that Tony was out of the house to work on his quilt. Since he was still going to Cheltenham three days each week, she got his quilt top sewed together, the layers pinned together, and much of the quilting done while he was at work or commuting. The quilting machine they'd bought had a built-in star pattern that Ziva used to randomly place the stars on the quilt to stitch the layers together.
Over the Fourth of July holiday week, both of the DiNozzo parents worked on the quilts for each other, putting the binding on and finishing on Saturday 6 July before heading to the McGee house for a cookout.
Ziva made her own binding from the stars design fabrics, while Tony used pre-made binding for Ziva's quilt. They'd agreed to work together and had shown each other the partially finished quilts around the end of June. Ziva's goal had been to have Tony's quilt completed by his birthday. Tony had Ziva's quilt finished at the same time.
~Quilts~
"Hey, Tony," Tim called out to his brother of the heart as the two were flipping burgers on the grills in the McGee backyard.
Tony responded without looking up from his grill, "Whatcha want, Probie?" He flipped the last of the twenty burgers on the flames in front of him and carefully placed the hotdogs on the side with the gridded screens covering the grates.
"Are you still gonna make me a quilt?" Tim flipped the twenty burgers on his grill and added the wrapped ears of corn to the top set of grates on his grill.
"Yep; I think I'm gonna make it your birthday present this year," the older man replied with a grin. "Anthony and LJ are helping me come up with a design. Tali and Ziva are making one for Dee, too. I guess then we'll also have to make one for John so all of you McGeeks have a quilt…"
Charles Palmer overheard the conversation between his uncles as he came on the deck to check on the food. "I want a quilt too!"
LJ, Anthony, and John were right behind their cousin. All four boys had been periodically checking to see when the food would be ready to eat. Besides the hamburgers and hotdogs that Tim and Tony were cooking, the Reeves family was bringing wings, the Palmers bought ribs, and Leon and Abby had a large platter of cold cuts. Gibbs had joked that if anyone went hungry it was his or her own fault.
Tony turned to the young Palmer as Ziva carried out the hamburger and hot dog buns for the two at the grills. "I think that can be arranged. In fact, perhaps all of the extended family will get a quilt for Christmas this year," he looked over at Ziva who nodded.
"We have five DiNozzos sewing quilts; we will have a production line before we know it," Ziva joked. "But I do like the idea of making quilts for everyone."
Rivka came outside with a tray of condiments for the burgers and hotdogs. "You know, Ima, Beth and I don't sew, but we do knit and crochet. We could make everyone hats, scarves, or mittens to help keep warm."
"I have an idea," Tali placed a large bowl of potato salad on the table with the other food. "Since almost all of us sew, knit, or crochet, why don't we also make items for the kids in the hospitals at Christmas this year?"
Katie jumped into the conversation, "Ooh, yeah… I can make hats or blankets for the kids. What do you think?"
"YES! We can make lap quilts, knitted hats, knitted blankets, crocheted hats, and crocheted blankets," Beth like the idea as well. "And those who don't sew, knit, or crochet can still help Grandpa make the toys. Or some of us can do multiple crafts…"
Clay shared a look with Tim, "And the ones of us who are all thumbs when it comes to crafting can wrap the gifts. I can wrap as many quilts, blankets, and hats as you can make."
Tony placed a large platter of burgers and hotdogs on the table with the other food, "Let's make a plan while we eat; we can figure out who will do what. Then we can get started soon so we have as many gifts for the kids as possible!"
Family filled plates with the delicious food; Tony added more burgers to his grill for seconds. He knew Anthony would eat at least three burgers, a couple of hotdogs, and the other foods. The thirteen-year-old seemed to be a bottomless pit these days. John, Charles, and LJ could pack the food away, but Anthony seemed to be the one who always ate the most at family gatherings.
Tim volunteered to keep a list of who was doing what and how many items had been completed by the family as the year went by; he figured it would help coordinate the distribution of items at Christmas time as well as keep a running total of the gifts from the extended family.
In all, the five sewing DiNozzos, Delilah, and Jimmy made forty-two lap quilts. The knitters and crocheters, including Riv, Beth, Katie, Ellie, Abby, John, and Tori made thirty blankets and seventy hats. Charles helped Breena make bracelets and necklaces as well as helped Gibbs with the wooden toys. Clay, Leon, and Tim wrapped over two hundred gifts from the family for the NCIS toy and gift distribution. When the family donned the Santa suits, Mrs. Santa outfits, and elf costumes that year, almost half of the gifts they gave to sick kids and teens in the local hospitals were made by the family.