Rough Days, Beautiful Quilts

I have learned throughout the years that no matter what I feel about other people (anger, love, sadness, etc.), I never have those emotions towards the fabric or quilts I'm working on or done with. While they each have memories, quilts will never hold a harsh word. Thinking about the snowball quilt I gave my folks for Christmas, I am reminded that my mom called me multiple times the next several days that my quilt had brought her to tears over and over again.

My mom has memories as a child of sleeping and cuddling beneath the quilts her grandma made. In a one-room house, everyone curled up under the quilts and snuggled in for warmth. Those hand-made, and hand-quilted quilts had a softness and thickness that bring in feelings of comfort for her. For the quilt I'd promised to make, the only request that was made was that the quilting be spaced out. After purchasing and receiving several store-bought quilts over the years, my mom realized that they were just too stiff and the close quilting flattened the quilt and didn't "feel right" to her. 

I now keep that softness and feel in mind when I'm working on a quilt. It means that my quilting has to be spaced effectively to give my quilts that warmth that someone's going to want and need. 

I figured I'd also share a few pictures of the quilt I'll be listing in my Etsy shop in a few minutes. I kept the thoughts regarding "comfy" and "cozy" in mind with this one. The tan fabric is a solid that I've stitched rows of decorative stitches on with different threads. I then cut each tan square to make 4 triangles. I also made sure when I laid out the pieces to assemble this quilt that no "bow-tie" was created from the same tan square. 

I echo quilted around to make the bow-ties show through the pieced back. And yes, the strip of orange and blue through the center of the back is a bit "not straight". That was intentional. I wanted the comfy, home-pieced look that ensures you know that this quilt was made just for you!