Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Quilts...stitched with love!

Jeff and I moved into our house 8 years ago on Halloween night. We were so excited to get a house big enough for our growing family, and one that was in such a wonderful neighborhood. We finished moving all the boxes and furniture in by 5:30 PM, then had a quick dinner, decorated our entry way and waited for our new neighbors to come trick or treating... so that we could meet them.

Two of my neighbors were quilters and they asked me right away if I had ever quilted?  I explained that I loved to sew but never quilted and couldn't even imagine being able to do that. I have always loved quilts but...it seemed so hard and that it would take a lot of time and patience. My grandmother and my Aunt quilted by hand all the time but there again, that seemed way beyond my abilities. My neighbors just smiled and said "we will have  you quilting before long!". They kept their word and before I knew it, I was going to my neighbors for quilting classes. I even talked another one of our other neighbors to come with me. Now some 7 years later, I am quilting all the time and I love it!  Of course it did help to be an Aunt and a grandma ( NANA )  because then you have beautiful little ones to wrap your quilts up in. I love these girls and it does my heart good to see them with their quilts. Aren't they too cute?

"Families are like quilts, stitched together one piece at a time."

When I go back East, my dear friend and I, plan on quilting. I am even bringing fabric and projects with me. It is hard to believe that it has only been 7 years that I have had this addiction... yes,that is what quilting is an addiction (but a good one). Now  I can go to any quilt shop and hold my own when I am speaking to them. There is a certain lingo that goes with quilting, just like there is with anything else. For instance, when I heard quilters in the shops talk about FAT QUARTERS I actually thought they were talking about a body part that you got from sitting and quilting for hours. :) Actually a fat quarter is a certain size piece of material! So now, I can walk the walk and talk the talk with quilters and I am loving it!

When my cancer hit this second time, I found myself wanting to make as many baby quilts as I could so if something happened and I didn't make it through my cancer that each one of my grandkids in the future would have something special and made with love from their Nana! It didn't take me long to realize that I didn't have time to think like that, I needed to get busy studying all that I could about my breast cancer and how once again I was going to fight it. After my mastectomy, I didn't have the energy or feel good enough to do anything with my sewing. I knew that I must be getting better this summer when I finally started to get back to my sewing room and had a desire to quilt again. It has brought me a lot of comfort to make these things for those I love and I pray some day when I am gone that they will remember how much I loved them.

"Our lives are like quilts - bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love."

I love the attitude of quilters too, they are very compassionate and caring individuals mostly. Quilting does take a lot of time and patience but they think the loved ones that they are doing them for, are more than worth it! If you make a mistake, a quilter will say " that just makes your quilt unique!" Yes, I am fitting right in with those quilters and for sure my quilts are unique but definitely made with lots of love. It has taught me that any amount of my time and effort is worth it for those I love. Need to go and start quilting something before I leave. Thanks for always being there. Have a great day!

"Quilts are like friends, a great source of comfort."

2 comments:

Julie N. said...

You are an amazing quilter! Your grandkids and loved ones will cherish what you've done for them. Have a great trip and I'm anxious to hear about it all :-) Love you!

Karma said...

I love your quilts. They are so special!