A quilt for the closet

Doesn't every girl wish for a towering linen closet packed with hand-made quilts made lovingly from the hands and hearts of the family women that have come before her? 

 No? Maybe?? 

Well, I do and it was a sad, sad day for me when I realized my dowry was pretty empty and I would not be inheriting a hankie, much less a treasure trove of hand-made quilts...

but then--I had a moment of clarity; that was when I decided that *I* would be that woman...

I would be that great-grandmother that started the cycle: lovingly making and passing down quilts to my children & grandchildren; and then these --

in turn- could be passed onto my grandchildren's grandchildren and on and on..

I would make that closet full...

Wow...did that thought make me really happy.

So, I taught myself how to quilt.

  Its really not that hard, its a wonderful process and so what if it takes a year to complete...

it is so totally worth it. So far, I've made 4 quilts. 

 I got a little ahead of myself on a couple, maybe going a little too advanced with pattern choice, so for the 4th one, I decided to dial it back and really try to master certain aspects & techniques...

(aka measuring and cutting correctly.) 

 I happen to find the mother lode of all quilt tutorials, the mecca of online quilters everywhere...

Old Red Barn Co.  And Dana is fantastic. 

I followed her expert instruction exactly and am so pleased with this quilt I just finished and gave to Magda for her 6th birthday. 

 (it was supposed to be for her 5th birthday, so you see what I mean about taking a year...)

I love the whole process: settling on a pattern, picking the color scheme/the fabrics...making that first cut...sewing the top together and seeing it take shape...

I love pinning the whole thing together and cramming it thru the sewing machine to quilt it all together. 

(ok, maybe not so much...) 

This time, I actually took my time and hand sewed the binding that was very satisfying and in the end, cutting all the little white threads off, throwing it in the wash and 

seeing my daughter's eyes go as wide as plates when she unwrapped it...she had no idea I had been working on it-- was a total surprise to her.  

She grabbed it, hugged it and then ran over and hugged me and thanked me for all the hard work I put into it just for her--she actually said that.  

She felt loved and I felt proud...

and I know my great granddaughter will feel grateful.