Fiber Babble: A Quilter's Quandry

A Quilter's Quandry

June 15, 2008

I have two stacks of finished quilts. I don't think any of them are bed-sized, but baby/crib/lap/wall, with a mess o'table runners mixed in. The stacks are in danger of collapsing under their own weight.

Why am I holding onto them? I do like or love many of them, but I'm certainly not enjoying them while they're sitting in their stacks. And anyway, what I really enjoy is the creative process. Many of the quilts were made as pattern samples or class samples - kind of things I "had" to do, though I enjoyed (or learned from) the process.

If you were to walk into my house, it's questionable whether you would realize that a quilter lives here.

Just yesterday somebody said that they only own one of the quilts that they've made, they give the rest of them away. I wish I could recall exactly what she said when she was explaining WHY she gave everything away; what I heard was, "I've already enjoyed the quilt, in all the hours I was making it. If it will make someone else happy, I'm glad to give it to them."

Just today at church our St. Claire's Guild had dolls and quilts all over the sanctuary to be blessed before going off to people in need. There is obviously a need out there and I'm in a position to contribute, at least a little bit. These quilts make me happy, why shouldn't I let them make someone else happy?

Oh, and a note to my family members? This is the "speak now or forever hold your peace" part. Spread the word.

Labels: babble, charity, quilting

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5 Comments:

At 6/16/2008 4:16 PM,

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson Babbled Back:

That's nice of you to give you family a chance to shout out if they want one. And I hope they got the part about "or forever hold your peace". I gave 2 to a new bride and groom (nephew)last Nov. and I let them pick from the pile.

At 6/16/2008 11:20 PM,

Kyla Nicole Babbled Back:

Haha, I almost feel bad asking, after the gigantic quilt you made for our wedding last year :p

However, I have been longing for a table runner (or two or three). We have a kitchen island that we use as our "table", and it looks so sad, all nekkid pine-y and lonesome. it's only about 3, maybe 3.5 feet long, but it's quite tall, so it has ample "dangle room".

Also, the small ones would *LOVE* to have an Oma Quilt for their beds! Are you kidding?? They STILL talk about the bed in "Oma's visit room" (aka guest room ;) They actually read your blog with me frequently, and have "wondered aloud" if you would make a blanket for them, lol ;)

On a related note, Isaac asked me recently if I could crochet him a "half size stuffed R2D2 toy". I explained to him that it would be very hard for me, and take a lot of time. He paused briefly, and moved on to Plan B:

Isaac: "Mom, can I have a blank card, a pretty stamp, and a PEN, not a pencil?"

Me: "Um, oKAY. Why?"

Isaac: "So I can make a nice card to ask Oma if she can use her fast knitting machine to make a half size stuffed R2D2 toy. It won't be hard for her. My sister could work that machine when she was only four."

(I toss and turn at night, fearing my minions will one day discover the enormity of their own powers.)

At 6/17/2008 5:47 AM,

Shelina Babbled Back:

How do you do those boxes in your posts?

I gave a quilt to someone who just had a baby - the family came clamoring for theirs. It really isn't hard to give away quilts. Whatever you don't give to family, you can give to charity, a teacher, a neighbor, etc. You can, of course, keep them to decorate your home.

At 6/17/2008 2:21 PM,

Paula, the quilter Babbled Back:

I followed a link from Shelina's blog to yours. I seem to give a lot of my quilts away too.

At 6/19/2008 4:38 AM,

Joyce Babbled Back:

I found you through Shelina. I have given away a lot of quilts to family but they are starting to pile up again. What to do? WHat to do???