Why do I quilt

First let's explore what is a quilt... In technical terms a quilt is 3 layers of textiles joined together by stitching.  A woven top and bottom layer with a layer of additional material like batting for warmth and loft.  In simplistic terms it is a blanket or bed covering.
To me a quilt is much more. 
A quilt is:

• A warm hug when the world is cold
• Comfort for one in need
• A place to rest your body when you are weary
• A fort for children at play
• A place to have an impromptu picnic
• A colorful addition to a room
• Memories of loved-ones long past
• A piece of art to adorn the world
• A work of heart pieced with love and prayers for one who I may never know or know very well
• A labor of love 
• The smile on the face of a loved one.

Dad and Me with his Quilt
Picture by Mom - used with permission

So why do I quilt?  To feed my creativity, and to share my love.  I quilt to wrap someone in love and comfort, to bring a smile to their faces.  I quilt to thank our service members, to let them know I appreciate the freedoms their service provides.  I quilt for the love of creating something beautiful and meaningful from a pile of fabric.  I quilt because I must.

 

 

Where Oh Where Did My Creativity Go

I when I move to Wisconsin back in 1996 I started a crafting business, making and selling handcrafted items at craft shows.  Really it was a kind of a kick to know that somebody would actually pay for my things that I made.   I had that business for several years while my son was growing up.  It was nice to be home when he got home from school.  I use to joke that my crafting business paid for my quilting habit.  

In 2002 I went to work at a full time job.  While I was working, I was still doing craft shows, just not as many, until I took a job 90 minutes away.  By that time, there was very little time to craft and be creative and my crafting business officially closed in 2006. 

Little by little I started giving away throwing away or selling off all my crafting supplies. For several years I would hold a "No Time to Craft Sale" and sell all of the supplies at very low prices.  I'd sell buttons at $3/pound and fabric at $2/pound and other supplies for pennies on the dollar.  I emptied a lot of bins and boxes that way.  I had people lining up at my sales to buy    All that I had left  were several large bins of fabric and about 30 pounds off buttons which sat in storage containers on mys shelves and in the garage.  My sewing machine gathered dust. 

My creativity went into a kind of hibernation while I grew my new business.  I'd think about quilting once in a while, but never really got the fabrics out to play with them.

When my son was deployed, he requested neck coolers for his soldiers. Out came the sewing machine, serger and rotary cutter.  I enlisted the help of my Mom, Mother-in-Law, and Mom's church friends and we made about 300 neck coolers that year for our brave soldiers. 

With that one small project my creativity started to wake up.  Last fall, I gathered up some 80 fat quarters that had been sitting in a box and started a king-sized quilt for our son, due to rotate home from overseas in February.

The pattern is from the book Nana's Garden.  I liked the pattern so well, I made a twin for our guest room in my favorite colors Pink and Purple. 

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This picture was taken before the final border and quilting were done.

With these two quilts my creative spirit was making itself known.  Now I'd rather quilt than work.  I'm dealing with that though, and finding a balance between the two.  Who needs sleep?