A Piece of Who I am
Creating has always been very important to me. I grew up watching my grandma sew and create, later I was able to take sewing lessons from a neighbor.
I created my first quilt for my first baby in 2000. I was discouraged by a local shop owner and took some years before attempting another quilt. 2002, I made a rag quilt for my second baby. The next attempt I saw a quilt pattern in my local fabric store and I fell in love. After my friend, who has since passed away, helped me pick my fabrics I went home and began cutting my pieces. A little while in I got so frustrated that nothing was squaring up and I really didn’t know what I was doing. I put it in a box and hid it in my craft stash.
I moved a few years back and made friends instantly with an avid quilter, who showed me some short cuts and some easy patterns. I made a couple quilt as you go minky’s and some simple patterns and I found my love. I pulled the abandoned box back out and finally finished it, imperfections and all.
Quilting is not only a creative outlet but also one in which I have used to cope with grief and stress. A good friend of mine died suddenly and I spent a lot of time shut up in my office shedding tears as I sewed and pieced quilts. More recently, a little over a year ago, I found out the baby I was carrying had two severe heart defects. I found myself once again spending a lot of time in my office, which has now become his nursery, sewing. I have often found solace at my sewing machine while piecing quilts for babies, weddings, and good friends. I love the comfort quilts can bring others. I didn’t fully realize their impact until the birth of my last baby. My older kids were not able to spend much time at the hospital with us, as the baby was in a hospital not close to home and in a cardiac intensive care unit. The child life specialist at the hospital gave my older children donated blankets at their visit prior to his surgery at 4 days old. My children (teenagers) loved those blankets. They brought them comfort through the coming weeks as their brother was in the hospital recovering from surgery and mom and dad were not able to be home much with them. I thought maybe they were too old to appreciate them, but they were not.
Creating has always been a way of connecting with my family. I connected to my grandma, mom and brother and now with my own children and friends. Quilting is a great way to create stories and share memories or pass on a heritage in something lasting. Quilts bring comfort to those we make them for they provide warmth and security in a real and figurative way. I want to share my passion and love with others by offering them the skills and supplies to create memories and treasures for themselves.
I created my first quilt for my first baby in 2000. I was discouraged by a local shop owner and took some years before attempting another quilt. 2002, I made a rag quilt for my second baby. The next attempt I saw a quilt pattern in my local fabric store and I fell in love. After my friend, who has since passed away, helped me pick my fabrics I went home and began cutting my pieces. A little while in I got so frustrated that nothing was squaring up and I really didn’t know what I was doing. I put it in a box and hid it in my craft stash.
I moved a few years back and made friends instantly with an avid quilter, who showed me some short cuts and some easy patterns. I made a couple quilt as you go minky’s and some simple patterns and I found my love. I pulled the abandoned box back out and finally finished it, imperfections and all.
Quilting is not only a creative outlet but also one in which I have used to cope with grief and stress. A good friend of mine died suddenly and I spent a lot of time shut up in my office shedding tears as I sewed and pieced quilts. More recently, a little over a year ago, I found out the baby I was carrying had two severe heart defects. I found myself once again spending a lot of time in my office, which has now become his nursery, sewing. I have often found solace at my sewing machine while piecing quilts for babies, weddings, and good friends. I love the comfort quilts can bring others. I didn’t fully realize their impact until the birth of my last baby. My older kids were not able to spend much time at the hospital with us, as the baby was in a hospital not close to home and in a cardiac intensive care unit. The child life specialist at the hospital gave my older children donated blankets at their visit prior to his surgery at 4 days old. My children (teenagers) loved those blankets. They brought them comfort through the coming weeks as their brother was in the hospital recovering from surgery and mom and dad were not able to be home much with them. I thought maybe they were too old to appreciate them, but they were not.
Creating has always been a way of connecting with my family. I connected to my grandma, mom and brother and now with my own children and friends. Quilting is a great way to create stories and share memories or pass on a heritage in something lasting. Quilts bring comfort to those we make them for they provide warmth and security in a real and figurative way. I want to share my passion and love with others by offering them the skills and supplies to create memories and treasures for themselves.