Quilts and Quilting

 

Quilts and Quilting are probably my very favorite "Q" word.  I haven't checked for sure, but probably half of the times that I have participated in the A to Z blogging challenge, I have blogged about quilts and/or quilting for the letter Q.  Is this cheating?  I hope not, because quilts and quilting are one of the joys of my life!  Now that definitely doesn't mean that I am an expert quilter, because that is definitely not true.  I have made or helped to make a few quilts during my life time, but quilting doesn't take up a large portion of my time either.  (Even though I sometimes wish that it did!)  There have been times in my life when I have had the time to spend sewing and creating quilts.  As a teenager and a young adult, even with the pressures of school and work, I was able to find time to help my mother and my Aunts create quilts for my siblings and cousins as they began their married lives.   I was also able to make a simple quilt to take with me when I left home for the first time and went to college, and another, larger, pieced patchwork quilt made with scraps from many of my home sewn clothes.  Though I designed and cut and pieced this quilt myself, I did have a lot of help with the hand quilting from my mother and aunties.   I have helped create many quilts with other women in the Relief Society, the women's organization of our church, that have been donated to various charities.  I have also helped my youngest daughter create a quilt to take with her when she first left home for college, have attended several quilting classes, and have begun several other quilting projects that currently reside in the sewing corner of our family room.  

The above photo is a stack of the finished quilts that I am very happy to have in my possession.  The bottom quilt a patchwork of blue/violet and red/maroon that was given to me by my mother, and probably sewn by my grandmother or one of her sisters.  The next up is a quilt that my husband used as a young man, and was created by his mother or another of his relatives.  The next up patchwork is the quilt that I created myself, mostly from fabrics left over from sewing my own clothes.  (My mother always bought just a little bit more fabric than was needed for the article of clothing,  probably to make sure we had enough left for quilts!).  The next one up, with the floral and paisley fabrics was a similar quilt made by for my by my mother for my marriage, as was the light blue Barbizon quilt and the purple and white gingham quilt.  The teal colored tricot quilt was made by my aunties and many of my cousins, and even my DH and myself at my bridal shower.  The brown and cream colored quilt was lovingly pieced and quilted by my dear mother in law, probably with some assistance from her daughters and her aunt.  The green and red picnic quilt with the strawberry fabric was made by and gifted to me by a very dear co-worker.  The pink baby quilt was one that was used by me and my sister when we were babies, and also covered many of my nieces and nephews and my own children when visiting with my parents.  And last, but not least, the top blue and white embroidered was the quilt used by my DH when he was a baby!  My hope is to do more quilting at some point, but for now I am mostly an observer and follow several quilting groups on social media.  I love seeing everyone else's creations!

Are you a quilter?   Do you have a quilt or quilts that have special meaning to you?