I have always secretly wanted to be a quilter. I hand pieced hexagons when I was at high school with friends, then put it all away.
When I was pregnant I decided to make a quilt for my baby’s cot. All hand pieced. It took a lot longer than I had envisaged. Thank goodness somebody else gifted us a cot quilt. That bought me another 12 months or so of time – although it made the job bigger because now I needed to make it single bed sized !
I did it though, and it kept her warm for many years – and is still holding together. I made some other quilts too. A patchwork square one for my brother – nothing fancy; and one for my parents which wasn’t so much patchwork or quilting; more a Escher inspired hand pieced twisted triangle which I appliqued on to a piece of fabric and then used that as the quilt topper.
In my cupboard I have some squares waiting for me to get out the sewing machine and whip up a new light quilt or throw, and in a box in the garage there are some bags of fabric which have travelled the world – waiting for me to make time and finish half done projects.
My love of handcrafts comes from my grandmother I think. She was a great knitter. I remember there were pieces of embroidery and tapestry too, some half finished at her home. I have a cushion she made with a tapestry cover, and a crochet blanket she made for my bed. There was a bargello cushion too, I wonder what happened to that one ? She crocheted a tablecloth with ecru cotton for Mum, hundreds of little squares individually hand sewn together. We all, my cousins and I and my daughter (her great granddaughter) were lucky to have home made knitted jumpers, cardigans – even dresses (except for the boys lol). I still have my knitted Noddy too, who last time I checked was still looking pretty good all these years later.
I remember her showing me embroidery stitches; lazy daisies, feather stitch and blanket stitch. Knitting was a shared task too, helping with the casting on, ribbing, cables…it takes a village, right ? We had a go at tatting together but neither of us really mastered it.
Cross stitch became my favourite for a number of years and Nana had dabbled with it too. A couple of years ago my daughter decided to give it a try, so it has passed to another generation. One of the first projects she completed was an unfinished one of Nana’s which had laid in the cupboard at Mum and Dad’s most of her life waiting for someone to pick up the needle again.
Life is like a tapestry. Everyone we meet weaves their way into our journey, some good, some not so much, like dropped stitches or knotty threads. But it is those interactions which make us who we are, and the little disasters (negative knitting and unpicking seams) give us the strength to carry on; to try again.
Family can be like a quilt; warm, enveloping, calming but giving you the freedom to leave while you spread your wings, knowing that the comfort and security they offer will always be there when you need it.
Right now, the whole world needs a great big quilt, and to know that everything will be alright. Eventually. Maybe I will get the sewing machine out this weekend.
