How I got here

Since I was in my twentys I have said that when I grow up, I am going to quilt. Back then I felt too incompetant and unstable to create. Both of my grandmother's were quilters. My mom's mom, Bertha was a beautiful hand quilter. She made the tiniest little stitches you have ever seen. It is hard to believe those beautiful stitches were made by hand. She only made a handful of quilts and sadly most of them are in sad shape today.

My dad's mom, Mable, is also a quilter, though today she is too arthritic to quilt. I don't think she ever made me a quilt but she did make a beautiful satin and velvet quilt that I coveted through my twenties. One day my grandfather gave me that quilt. That really pissed my grandmother off and even though I knew she was angry about giving the quilt up to me, I wanted it so much I took it anyway.

Just as well now anyway. Now she has been put into a nursing home and all of her quilts distributed amoung the family. The ceiling in her old home still has the hooks in the ceiling where the ladies would hang the quilt rack and sit around quilting each others quilts. Times have sure changed.

I now have in my possession just about every quilt made by my grandmothers and a couple made by my great grandmothers. I treasure these links to my past though I am saddened that I never got to learn about sewing from any of them. I would like to have known the stories behind the quilts. The stories of their lives when they were creating these quilts.

My favorite of all the quilts is the unfinished one made by Bertha. The quilt is called the Wedding Wreath, no not the double wedding ring. This is hand appliqued circle of green leaves with pink flowers and embroidered vines. Unfortunately, Bertha never finished this quilt. This quilt was to be a wedding gift for my mother. If this quilt ever hopes to be completed it will have to be by me. Now the question is, can I finish it while my mother is still alive? Also, am I capable of completing the quilt? Bertha did everthing by hand. I do everything by machine. Is there away to blend the past with the modern?

I always said I would quilt when I was more grown up. Apparently, grown-up was about 5 years ago when I decided to take a quilting class even though I didn't own a sewing machine or have a clue how to sew. 5 years later, I am hooked. Still much to learn though. Still searching for my creative voice.