Quilts

Madison's mermaid quilt, she drew & I turned into the quilt

She said this was a mama & daughter quilt, she spilled a little chocolate on mama

Dallas' quilt she also drew pictures & I turned into a quilt & ChaCha

Some of the quilts I made for the kids in my class

I love to make quilts.  I enjoy the whole process, from the idea forming in my head to drawing it on paper, to cutting and piecing the different materials together, to the quilting.  I get great satisfaction from finishing a quilt. My mom taught me how to sew but I could never quite get the making of clothes the way she or my sisters did.  I am mostly self-taught as a quilter. I've read a few books and practiced a lot, but did take one class in 2002. 

Over the years I've made a few quilts and each one took a pretty long time to finish. Until recently I did all of my quilting by hand. I purchased a new sewing machine after my old one broke beyond repair. My new machine can quilt and do so many things I have yet to try.  Because of this new machine I decided to do a rather large project for Christmas. I made a small quilt for each child in my class, plus a few extra for some kids I’m very fond of that used to be in my class.  I have lots of material, and I made purchases over several months to spread out the cost. Each quilt is different in color and design, and I enjoyed making each one. Like I said, I love the creative process, from beginning to end. I also enjoyed all the practice, and learning my new sewing machine.

One mom told me that my gift to her child was too much.  Several parents seemed very surprised when they learned that I made the quilt for their child. Upon finishing the last quilts I became a little nervous about giving them to the children. I didn't want parents to read too much into the gift. I didn't want it to be weird, especially for those who are not in my class anymore. Then I thought to heck with it, I made them I'm giving them.

I began to really think about why making the quilts was important; there are several reasons. I wanted to do something nice for the children in my class.  These kids make me smile and laugh every day that I am with them. Sure they can also make me want to pull my hair out, but that is rare. They can be so sweet and I love being greeted by a hug and a smile.  Even if the initial greeting isn't so sweet I eventually get that smile.

Another reason for making the quilts is I have a great need to do creative or artsy things. Quilting, drawing, or painting, are the things I do that make me happy. When doing these things it's not a chore or labor to me, it's fun! Doing something creative has helped me tremendously throughout my life, especially after losing Madison. After her death I found myself lost in my own head, constantly dwelling on what I should or shouldn't have done to keep Madison healthy. I had too much time every day to cry, blame, hate, dwell; I just wanted to die too. But I would never do anything to hurt myself, and I would never want to cause my other children more grief, they have been through enough.

Not long after Madison passed I began to paint again, it felt good, even if the paintings weren't.  Then I pulled out a quilt started for Dallas a few years earlier. While working on that quilt ideas came to me so I sketched them in a book, and began to search my stash of material to make more quilts.  This creativity I have is a gift from God and not to use it would be an insult to Him.

I have to be creative in that artsy way with fabric or paint or what ever comes to mind.  It is who I am, good or bad the art has to happen.  So I sometimes make things for people; and hope my work isn't judged too harshly.  My home is full of the things I've created over the years, quite full.  My answer to anyone who may ask why I made the quilts; "it's just what I do."