Emotionally Invested Quilting

     I'm not sure if I'm a breed apart or as some would say, a little off kilter, but I have a knack for remembering sometimes useless information.  Hubby calls me a fountain of useless information.  (He rolls his eyes when I tell him during baseball season what each Cubs pitcher's win/loss record is, but I giggle when I do it!)  But as I go through my scraps and even bigger pieces of leftover fabric, I can tell you why I bought the fabric and who I made the quilt for and why.  I look at some baby zoo fabric scraps and can tell you that it was from the first quilt that I ever made for a friends first baby.  There is some lavenders and purples in my stash and I know that is from a dear friends wedding quilt.  The list goes on and on.

Kim and Matt's wedding quilt

     When I stop to think how my quilts have celebrated so many milestones for those that I care about and choose to share my meager talents with, I have to pause for a moment in slight awe.  Our quilts celebrate babies, birthdays, anniversaries and graduations.  They give comfort to those that are sick and families in mourning.  What better way to show those we care for than that.
     I made my mother in law a quilt about 5 years ago after she had hip surgery.  I know she treasured that quilt.  She passed away last week.  What to do with the quilt that she loved?  What better tribute to her than to share that quilt with others.  So in her spirit, I gave it to the ICU where she spent the last 3 days of her life to give comfort to others in their time of need.

My Mother in Law's quilt

     Many of the quilts I am working on now are what I refer to as homeless quilts.  I have no one in mind when I'm making them, but I am now giving those homeless quilts to hospice here in town and to the ICU where mom was in WI.  They are filled with scraps of memories from the celebrations in life.  Those baby quilts, birthday, graduations, anniversaries etc., will now be giving comfort to those that need it most.  I suppose that it's fitting that quilts are there at the beginning of our lives, through our lives and at the end too.  Life is a series of celebrations and I intend to quilt them all!!!  

Homeless Quilt that found a home with Hospice of Dubuque

 

My first blog!

Welcome to my very first blog!!  I suppose the purpose of this blog is twofold.  The first and foremost is that I am a newly appointed member of Quiltmaker magazines, Scrap Squad and I'll need someplace that everyone can come and check on the progress of my quilts.  The second will be that now I have someplace to post all the questions and ideas that I have rolling around in my head.  My hubby says that I am a fountain of what he calls, useless information.  But, we all have those precious tidbits of past experiences, information and quandries that we deem important and it'll be fun to get some of those things out!
So now, I guess I am really a member of the 21st century with this blog.  I have not come here kicking and screaming, but have meandered here as I do with my quilting and as I have done with all new technology; learn when the need arises!  I remember like it was yesterday, asking my youngest son Corey, when he was 6 years old, to show me how this internet thing works.  That was a lot of years ago. 
Technology is an awesome thing and relates as well to our quilting.  The sewing machine was probably the most revolutionary of technology as relates for our quilting.  Followed by, in my opinion, the rotary cutter and of course the internet.  Stop to think how our mothers and grandmothers would have to actually cut fabric with scissors.  Talk about the "dark ages"!  Hard to believe that the rotary cutter really hasn't been around all that long.  Only since 1979!  I have clothes in my closet that have probably been around longer!!!!  Again, that's technology, even in it's simplest form does make our life better and easier.
Enough rambling for my first blog.  I hope you stop back from time to time and check on the progress of the Scrap Squad once the new group gets started and let me bend your ear with my meanderings!