QUILTING MATTERS BECAUSE.....

[Bubby]

I just read several responses to the above on a blog referenced here on the forum and I thought it would be nice to do one for ourselves and see how far we can go with it. Please share why quilting matters to you....

Quilting matters to me because the women in my family seldom were seen without a needle in their hand and I am part of them. Quilting connects me to the quilters in my family who have passed and will connect me to the future quilters of my ancestry. Quilting gives me peace...it gives me a creative outlet...it gives me another way to show love...it gives me something to be passionate about that never diminishes....it makes me feel connected....it gives me joy!

[pcbatiks]

This was my answer on the Stitch This question:
Quilting matters to me because I have found THE thing that I really enjoy doing and that I want to learn more about. From the start of my first project I knew I was hooked. Even though I am still fairly new to quilting I’ve learned that it is great therapy. The creative side…the planning and figuring that goes into a quilt helps keep you occupied in stressful situations. I’ve looked at so many quilts online from different quilt shows and I constantly amazed at the creativity and talent that goes into them. Quilts are important to me because they can inspire, give comfort and warmth, touch a viewers heart with their message. I’m gong to my first International Quilt show later this year and can’t wait. I think quilts bring me joy……the joy I have received from giving one as a gift and the joy I get from just looking at what others have created. I have lost count of how many times I have said "that’s the prettiest thing I have ever seen"……and then I see another one!

[Genny]

Quilting is my relaxation, my time to put aside the problems of everyday life. I can go to my little sewing room, close the door and just be in a world of my own.

[Monique]

Quilting is very relaxing to me. I hand quilt and find great comfort in it. I also find comfort in creating something that someone else will enjoy and appreciate the time and effort that went into it. An aunt of mine quilted and I remember seeing the frame she had set upstairs at her house. I sure wish I was interested when she was alive.

Quilting matters to me because it has brought me to this forum and I now have wonderful friends who share the same passion as I have.

[Sandy Navas]

QUILTING MATTERS TO ME: I picked up quilting when I had my knees replaced and could no longer make the trek to the woodworking shop as I was healing. I wasn't new to the craft, but had never pursued it in earnest. Right around that same time I inherited several quilt tops that my maternal grandmother had pieced and I knew I had to learn how to preserve them. I have always been a fabricholic so adding to my stash was not difficult. My intention was to use quilt while I regained my leg strength and then go back to woodworking . . . I've never looked back.

[lilmouse]

Quilting for me is a very good form of therapy and meditation.....I see God everytime I create something....when it doesn't turn out the way I think it would I figure God must have wanted it this way.....it has connected me to many different people; this forum and it is a creative outlet when I didn't think I had a creative bone in my body....it is a connection to my daughter who taught me how to quilt.....(I know - backwards) but that's okay too....it is my lifeblood now....even when I am in a funk I know it is there waiting for me to get over it and back to the things I love....quilting for me is a very physical sign of love...whether for a child in the hospital; a vet overseas or injured...for loved ones as a gift that is a part of me....I quilt for many reasons...but for the most part it is joy!

[EnumclawGramma]

Quilting to me is finding something I never knew I had but always wanted. It started as a hobby but is so much more than that now. It is a way to make others happy, and that makes me happy. When I was growing up my Gramma sewed all our clothes. My sister inherited that ability. I never had it, nor have I had many other hobbies in my life that I could put out there and say "look what I just did!" Quilting gives me that. I was always a Wife, Mom, PTA volunteer, classroom volunteer....always found a way to feed the "giving junkie" in me. As life settles down others need you less. Nothing compares to that feeling of pride and joy when you give a quilt to someone who really appreciates it. I LOVE that feeling and have become quite addicted to it (along with fabric and notions!)

[meemeecyn]

Boy, all of you have hit the nail on the head. The satisfaction and joy I feel when creating is what keeps me going. The bonding with other women (both on the forum and in the neighborhood) is what fills my soul. Great question, Barbara and great answer......
Cynthia

[brook]

Quilting matters to me because it allows me to do something significant for others. I ask what there favorite color is (without them knowing why) and down the line I can make one with their favorite color(s). I enjoy when people look at ones I've made and I can see that they really love it. Not just because of the quilt, but because someone cares enough about them to do something like that. I also enjoy being able to teach others how to quilt and seeing the look on their faces when they realize that they can make a quilt and it's pretty. : )

[Madeforyouinma11]

Everyone has said it all....I love quilting for so many reasons. The creativity, the joy of it all coming together, the fun in giving it away, the peace of mind it brings when you get lost in a world all your own. I am also enjoying being able to teach my daughters something that they will have with them forever to pass down to future generations. It gives me so much satisfaction to be able to say that I have created something so unique, because no matter what pattern and fabric is used, every quilt is different and unique in its own way...and usually has a story to go with it...lol I feel blessed to have been given the ability to do something that brings joy to so many. Quilting has also helped me to find all of you here which is great all in itself.
Thanks Barbara for reminding all of us how lucky we are.