Here’s a quilt I just had to share. One of the categories for C&T’s blog posts is “Inspiration” and this is my inspiration. Every time I see it, I’m amazed. (Admittedly, it’s a story quilt that focuses on my life, so obviously the egocentric part of my wants to know why wouldn’t I be amazed?)

Story Quilt

My mom created this wonderful quilt for me. (She’s also my inspiration.) In my mind, it’s a true masterpiece both because of its beauty and the workmanship that went into it, and because it’s a tangible example of our lifelong relationship in which she goes completely and totally, 100%, over the top for me.

This is the first quilt she ever started, but not the first quilt she ever completed. She started it in 1992 (the year we both started quilting) and finished it in 1997. She didn’t work constantly on it, but periodically. While she didn’t have experience as a quilter, she’s always been able to sew (or do anything she wanted to do, particularly if it was crafty) and she is an artist. You name it, the technique is in there. Curved piecing? Check. Applique? You betcha. Traditional patterns? Just look at those tumbling blocks.

cars, editing jobs, girl scouts, engagement...

My mom replicated photos, she embellished with surface design, adding embroidery and other doodads, she bordered and piped… The one thing she didn’t really do was edit. Who needs editing?

schools, pets, wedding, Bud (my beloved stuffed dog)...

She included every house I’d lived in on one side and every trip I took on the other. The city in which I was born (San Francisco) is on one end, complete with the hospital marked and the time of my birth on the clock tower, the the city in which I was raised and still live in (Oakland) on the other. My friends are paper dolls complete with embroidered names on the legs. My pets, cars, schools, hobbies, recreated childhood drawings, hobbies, and girl scout badges are proudly displayed. And there’s my engagement and wedding covered, complete with a veil made out of my grandmother’s veil. My penchant for falling down and injuring myself is depicted in bandages.

Any quilt is a wonderful gift. I could never hope to create something like this myself, but I have and will take a lesson or two (or three) from it:

1. Any gift is better when you make it yourself and you put thought into your recipient.

2. If you can imagine it, you can probably make it out of fabric.

3. Going over the top for your kids (and family and friends) is a great idea.

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