My quilting started a long time ago.
I didn't know at the time that it would become a life-long passion.
I was about ten or so, and I was bored.
I hate that word -
"bored." When my children said they were bored, my training
from my parents was to put the child to work. That was their solution to
being bored, but as a parent, I realized that there was more to life than work.
I wanted them to enjoy being children and find things they enjoyed doing
when they were not working. It seemed like good training for when they
became adults. From my own experience, I realized that too many people,
when relieved from the daily grind, were lost on what to do with themselves and
resorted to drinking or shopping as entertainment. Both, I feel, are not
the most productive or fulfilling activities and can lead to an empty wallet
and an empty heart.
My youngest son was easily bored.
Not one to watch TV, movies or play video games, if it was raining
outside or snowing, it made it difficult to placate him. When he said,
"I'm BORED!" I would cringe inside. I knew that I needed to
guide him to finding ways to fill that empty time that would instill lifelong
skills to lead him to a fulfilling, nurturing space. It was a huge
responsibility. I soon learned that the
only way to placate him was to send him outside – regardless of the
weather. He is a lot like his grandfather
and finds fulfillment in what others would call work.
My oldest two children were easily
entertained. They loved to watch the
Discovery Channel, and now joke about their wealth of “useless” knowledge. My oldest son loved video games, and both of
the oldest two loved to read. My
daughter loved photography and painting.
It was a Sunday when I proclaimed my
bored status. I am sure my mother cringed at that responsibility being
laid upon her back. Since it was Sunday, work was not required. It
was a day of rest, and I am sure my mother wanted a break, too! My siblings all loved to play together
outside, but I rarely cared for their activities. I am sure when my mother reached deep into
her resources to find something to entertain me that she had no idea how it
would change my world.
Out of desperation, she taught me to
make patchwork quilts. She gave me a small envelope for my template, the
pin cushion and a stack of scraps she had saved from making pajamas for us
kids. She showed me how to lay the template on the fabric, taking care
not to waste, pin it in place and cut it out. After I had a stack of
rectangles, she showed me how to lay them out on her bed to see how they
looked. We rearranged them till the pattern was pleasing to us. She then
taught me to use her sewing machine, and I sewed the pieces together.
The quilt was tied with orange yarn,
something we must have had on hand, and the batting was made from an old
blanket. It was the old way of making comforters and quilts. It
seems archaic, but I appreciate it today for what it was – a woman’s way of
making art from necessity. They used what they had, and they made useful
things, but they made them with love and care, taking pride in the end result.
My first scrap quilt was just the
right size for my dolls, and I would later use it for my daughter when she was
an infant. After I finished the first one, I set about making a twin
sized for my own bed.
My quilting was left by the wayside
for many years, as friends and school, ball games and school activities took
over. After high school, I married and
had children, divorced and remarried, moved around the world, and grew
up. I didn’t pick quilting back up again, till necessity opened the door once
again.
It was the fall of 1989. My
husband and I were living on a meager income. Christmas was coming, and I
could tell that we would not have a lot of presents for the children under the
tree. I decided to make my daughter a personalized quilt. I had
lots of scrap fabric, collected over the years, and using the same technique
that my mother had taught me when I was ten, I made a large patchwork quilt,
used a blanket for the batting, but this time, I machine quilted the blanket to
the back, which was a flat sheet I had purchased from the Dollar Store. I
appliqued her name on the front, and used eyelet lace to edge it. She
still has it today, and she brings it home to be mended, as it is becoming
threadbare from use and age.
My best friend, Deirdre, who was
also struggling to buy Christmas that year, saw the quilt and decided to make
one for her mother. She did not have such a stash of fabrics, so went to
the local fabric store to find what she needed to complete her project.
While at the fabric store, Deirdre
saw a quilting class advertised. She begged me to take the class with
her. I really didn’t feel I should spend the money, but after much
begging and pleading, I gave in and splurged. It was at this class that I
learned new techniques, and the art of quilting.
Deirdre and I continued on with our
quilting. We were two stay-at-home moms. We got together and cut,
sewed and quilted together. We planned and dreamed together.
Although we had learned to machine quilt our quilts, we were enamored with the
idea of hand-quilting, so studied up on it, and experimented with hoops and
frames. We aspired to get as many stitches in an inch as we could. Eight
to ten is considered good. We achieved
ten and were content with that.
Through the years and changes in
lifestyles, Deirdre and I lost touch for twenty years. We recently
reconnected through Facebook. I was sad to hear that she does not quilt or
sew anymore. Deep down she is a true artist. Sometimes, she would wake in the morning and
sketch out a quilt pattern that popped into her head in the night. Most of my creations seem to always come from
magazines or books.
When my maternal grandmother came to
live with my mother for a short period before moving into the nursing home
after Grampa died, she and I spent time quilting together. She did all of
her work by hand – from the piecing to the quilting. It was
a time of bonding that I will treasure forever.
I know where the word “comforter”
came from, because the feeling of fabric in my hands and the transformation
that takes place through this creative act feeds me and comforts me. It
takes me to places that nothing else can. I don’t think I will ever
stop quilting. My only hope is to
possibly get better with each project.
