Why do I quilt? Gifts of the Father
I've been in a challenge #CreativePassiontoProfit and one of the questions is "Why?"
Thinking back to my early childhood, I always felt sort of "arty". gifted by God, priviledged to be able to sketch, etc. My Mom sewed most of my clothes which I'm sure was a great influence on me, though I didn't really realize it at the time. When I was about 12 yrs, I began to make most of my own clothes. Through my early adulthood, I continued to make clothes for myself and for family members and friends. When birthdays came around, I was often gifted with a dress length of fabric. Seems strange to some folks, but it was a perfect gift for me.
Connie (sister) left, me on right. New dresses looks like a special day of some sort.
Amy and Christina (my granddaughters), in dresses I made for them. Below you can see how much fabric is involved in this project.
After the children were out of the house, I had more time, different priorities, and such. I began to experiment with quilting. Not like Grandma Jennie did, but by machine. I really enjoyed the design, the math (another gift), etc.
Most of my early work was traditional. I didn't really know there was anything else. As time went by I made more quilts and finally entered one in an #AmericanQuilter'sSoc show. Here it is http://www.patdurbin.com/quilt-gallery/traditional/15-piecemakers-barns
It was in Nashville and Gary thought we should go. It was so wonderful! I saw quilts that were more art centered. They jump started my mind to look at quilting in a whole new way. I went home and started on my journey of making picture quilts. This has become one of my passions and has led me to where I am today. (saturated in quilting).
So that's sort of the start of my journey. Now I'm headed to Daytona Beach to teach in one of those AQS shows...funny how that happened. http://www.quiltweek.com/locations/dab18/
Have you any stories to share?