It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This...

This article has appeared in The Canadian Quilter and my local guild newsletter:

As a rule, I don't like winter. It's cold, it's dark, it's slippery and stormy. It's the perfect time to set up a quilt in my living room and hibernate.

So there I sat early one cold Sunday morning- nothing immediate needed to be done, there was nowhere I had to be this morning, the kids were still snuggled under their covers. I was thinking how pretty this latest quilt was, what would I do with it? All of the beds had two or three quilts, the camp has a half dozen summer quilts, maybe I could use it to snuggle under on the couch. While my fingers automatically stitched around and around the log cabin blocks and my mind was hopelessly jumping from one thought to another I suddenly felt- "it just doesn't get any better than this...". This is what quilting is all about. This feeling of warmth, and tranquility and peacefulness - it may be cold and stormy just outside the window but in here all is right with the world.

My quilt frame takes up the entire living room. When it's up, I can't have anyone sleep over because the bed chesterfield is under my quilt frame. The family has to go the long way around to reach the kitchen. The dog can't easily climb up to her perch by the window. When the frame is up, anyone who comes to my door can see how I have been passing my time. Co-quilters drop by to peek at my latest project. Paper carriers, delivery people, neighbors and all of the inevitable teenagers who trapse through the house comment on the quilt. They all entertain me with stories of how their gramma made quilts, how they still have a quilt that was passed down, how lucky my kids are to have so many on their beds... I realize that the legacy of a quilt will always hold that special place in memory that is dedicated to home, love and comfort.

Hand quilting on an old fashioned floor frame isn't an easy task to take on. Setting up the quilt itself is a breeze- no basting every two inches, no dragging the piece on the floor while quilting, no fighting with a hoop or sewing machine- simply tack in place and quilt. The stitches themselves are easily managed - practice and perseverance are all that are required. What is not easy is the disruption to the entire household. The quilt is always in view, urging me to sit, just for a few minutes...

The meals are always late, the kids have taken to making their own. The laundry is piling up and the kids have been throwing in a load of their own clothes when they run out. The girls can't dance in the living room so instead curl up beside me with a book. They think about asking for a ride somewhere, then decide to just walk when I say " just a few more stitches!". Barbie dolls and Legos make a home in that wonderful cabin under the frame. There is no need to tidy up or vaccum the room because all that visitors will notice is the quilt. It just doesn't get any better than this....