We know she's brilliant, now she's just showing off.

When I graduated from college, my parents were in the process of moving from Mississippi to Alabama and I went with them based solely on the fact that I felt like I had nowhere else to go. I obviously had other options, but at the time, it wasn't so clear to me. This was a move back home for them. They wanted to be closer to their aging parents. When I was a child, my family visited my grandparents every year or two, so I knew them, but I never really KNEW them. One of my grandmothers was a quilter and I decided to ask her to teach me how to quilt. I wanted to know her and I knew this would be time well spent with her. She took me to the fabric store and walked me through all the steps for making my first log cabin quilt. We picked out greens and blues in various shades of dark and light and I was completely lost. During the quilting lessons, she was pretty patient with me and she laughed a lot. She was truly a perfectionist, which made me try a little harder, but I'm sure she was rolling her eyes at me when I wasn't looking.

When she died, I inherited all her quilting things. It's not like she left them to me, but I was the only one who knew how to quilt at the time and I felt honored that her things were now mine. Amongst all the scraps and patterns were several completed owl blocks. I used a few of my own owl blocks along with grandmother's to make my Mom a lap quilt for Christmas that year. I put a "quilted by" tag on the back corner that had my name and my grandmother's name as if it were a joint effort, which I guess it was.

Before each of my children was born I made quilts for them and when they were old enough to understand, I told them that the quilts were made especially with them in mind because I loved them before I ever even saw their tiny faces. Needless to say, they are a pretty protective over those now tattered pieces of cloth. I've repaired them both so many times I can't even count anymore. I made a baby quilt for one of my dearest friends for her daughter's first birthday, using the baby clothes from that first year that she loved the most. I even wondered at the time if making quilts like that would be a good source of income for me, but I think I quickly realized that the effort I put into each one was worth a lot more to me than people would be willing to pay.

I just don't see how people can make these things and then sell them. I have one in the closet right now that has been pieced since (NO LIE) 1997. It still sits there waiting for the final touches to be added. And by final touches I mean about half of it still has to be quilted and the whole thing has to be edged. Who has time for that stuff anymore? Not me. But, I really do miss the part of me that used my hands to create things. Quilts are mathematical as well as artsy. They satisfy the brain in at least two realms and maybe more. I'm sure this blog is some sort of brain outlet for me, and it's one that allows me to stay seated at the desk where I work for actual money, which is a plus. But it doesn't do the same healing as the tedious in and out of a needle through layers of cloth and batting. This is the happy kind of sewing. Those 4 pair of school uniform pants that need to be hemmed in the other room? That's the not happy kind.