Friday, February 19, 2010

For the Love of Quilts.

I started making quilts in 2001. My friend Cathy and I took a quilting class together at Quilter's Quarters in North Toronto. I think our favourite part was picking out the fabric and the weekly gossip sessions that ensued over the 8 week course. After that I was hooked. I started out simply, making a quilt for my friend Dave who had moved to Japan, and then one for our new (to us) house.

My mom and Jennifer are also quilters. We each have our own distinct style and I love this. While I enjoy the piecing of the quilts (sewing the actual blocks of the quilts), Jennifer prefers the quilting part (when the quilt is sewn together with it's inner padding and back). I've joked with her in the past that I should just send her my quilt tops once I finish them and have her quilt them for me as that is my least favourite part. My mom is a quilting superstar and she is much more adventurous than me. Most of the quilts in these pictures are made by her.

This is a quilt I made when we bought our house. In this picture I'm asleep with Max and our cat Samba. I believe he is under a week old in this picture (which is why I'm so tired):

I made this tulip quilt for Maya, our friends Brad and Jen's first baby:

The most complex quilt I've made is this heart quilt. It was a Christmas gift for my mom. If you look closely you can see that the pink hearts have 4 different fabrics, and the red hearts also have 4 different fabrics:
My mom has made Max many quilts. I believe this one was started before we knew I was going to have a boy (that's how excited my mom was about her first grand baby):

Once my mom found out she was going to have a grandson, she of course had to make a blue quilt as well!: Max's Aunt Jennifer also made him a quilt (and trust me, you can never have enough baby quilts!). I think this picture was taken the day he came home from the hospital:
When Max was having trouble sleeping at daycare, his Occupational Therapists recommended a weighted quilt. Grandma stepped in and made him the perfect quilt, exactly 10% of his body weight and soft flannel material:
For Christmas this year she made him a bigger, slightly heavier one. It has become a favourite of everyone in our house:Somewhere along the line, my mom also made the two quilts on the back of the couch (that's me and my bro Daniel with Max). I believe the first one was for Scott and my first apartment together, and the red heart one was for my birthday a few years ago:Not to worry, Cameron has gotten her fair share of quilt love. This is the quilt that Aunt Jennifer made for her. Cameron celebrated being sick this month by barfing all over it. This is the true sign of a loved quilt:
Grandma made Cameron 2 quilts - one to decorate her nursery wall:
And one for her to sleep with and play on:
These quilts have been there for the most important parts of our lives (and there are at least three more that I have made that I don't have pictures of!). I love that every quilt has a story, and when you snuggle under one, you can feel the love that went into making it. I need to start quilting again.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:06 p.m.

    I really like the heart quilt, the detailing is really beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. thanks! It was the toughest quilt I've done and the most rewarding for sure.

    ReplyDelete