Are you Quilting Kidding Me?

A few years ago I caught a small quilting bug and bought some matching fabric and a pattern. I dug through many patterns until I finally found one I liked, not being very attracted to most quilting styles, and took my purchase home. The sad part was that I lost all motivation when I sat down and begun. I hadn't even really looked at the pattern so that wasn't what scared me, it was just that I had no desire to do it.

I have a dear friend who loves to quilt and figured maybe I was missing out on something, but soon realized that this wasn't the time and place for me to begin quilting. I just didn't have it in me. Well, after showing my pattern to some other quilting friends, I learned that there was good reason for me not to quilt that pattern, or at least to start quilting with that pattern because it was a very difficult one. After learning this I just chalked it all up to a learning experience and threw my pattern and material in a bag in a closet, very deep in the closet.

Quite some time later I found it while cleaning out the closet and mentioned it to my dear friend; Cynthia. She graciously said she would quilt it for me because I still really wanted the finish product, but was now intimidated by the difficulty of the task. Well, I just received it in the mail Friday and I knew immediately what it was when I saw her handwriting on the box. I jumped up and screamed, "Dave, it's the quilt." He cheered me on, "Open it! Open it! Let's see!" I pulled it out and was in complete shock. It was/is beautiful! I just sat and looked at it for a good 15 minutes just amazed at how so many sections were so different and this is one of the reasons it was such a difficult pattern.

I had already decorated my baby room to match these colors, but was just missing the crib baby blanket and today for the first time I got to put Bevan down for her nap with her new baby blanket/quilt. It is so beautiful and I am so grateful for a dear friend in Cynthia that she would spend so much time to do something so special for me. As I told her on the phone, "I feel so spoiled!" Isn't it just beautiful! I'm so blessed to have her as is she to have her quilting skills!

Cynthia and I have been friends ever since my days in Park City and it's been great because she and I have been able to maintain a great relationship regardless of the distance. She is just like a sister to me and I love her dearly! I'm so happy to be able to have a quilt made by her in my possession because that is what makes it so very special to me!

All this quilt talk reminded me of another very special quilt in my home. When my mother was diagnosed with Cancer my sweet sister in law; Julie wanted to make a quilt for my mom and indirectly me when my mother was no longer able to enjoy it. The colors she had me pick were ones that matched my mother's bedroom set and personality perfectly. I now have the quilt and feel so warm physically and emotionally when using it. I'm starting to understand the quilt thing.

This is a quilt my mother and I made together for my wedding. It's pretty simple, but it holds great love and memories for me and my family because of it's origin.

This is a quilt I made for Dave while we were dating. It's quite the story. I didn't think we were headed anywhere as a couple so I didn't want to spend money on him for Christmas. As a result, I opted to make him a quilt out of inexpensive fabric for a Christmas present because I just couldn't not give him anything. Little did I know that we would end up getting married and this quick-sew inexpensive quilt would become my husband's favorite "blanky" in my home. Dave and I laugh a lot over that quilt and how clueless I was at the time I made it for him. Good memories.

This is not my favorite looking blanket (not really a quilt), but it has such great meaning to me that it had to be included. When I was on my mission, my companion and I met and taught an amazing man named Mario. He was baptized after our discussions and gave us gifts to show his gratitude. I received this blanket. It always reminds me of my mission days and I just love to have it around because of that and it's great warmth. The picture on it, ummm... I could do without, but really who cares what a blanket looks like if you can baptize somebody, right?

This last blanket was given to me by my wittle sister; Megan. She was so excited to pick out my color choices and give this to me as her own instigated birthday present for me. I just love to think of her each time I see it. What a sweetheart for a sister! It's become my running blanket that I use after my runs to keep warm. It's so fun to get a "hug" from Megan after each run!