The Quilt in the Closet

When I was a little girl, my mom had a special box she kept in the linen closet at the top of the stairs. Inside the box was a 1930's Dresden Plate quilt made by her grandmother. From time to time I would rummage around under the sheets and towels to find the box, get it down and carefully take out the beautiful old quilt. I loved that quilt. It captured my imagination. I loved to pore over the fabric and trace the stitching with my fingers. I liked to imagine my great grandmother making it and I decided that when I grew up I would make a quilt just like it.

Years later, I found myself living with my English husband in the UK with 3 children under three. I took an adult education quilting course to keep sane and became well and truly hooked. Over the next 10 years, I had 3 more children and made lots of tops. I loved collecting fabric and playing with pattern and colour. But I struggled with the quilting. Life was busy. I felt guilty about rarely finishing my projects. Quilting by hand was not a remote possibility. I was bored with stitch in the ditch but found free motion machine quilting a pain in the neck. My collection of UFO's (Un Finished Objects) grew with my guilt.

In 2003, my mom gave me a table top quilting frame for Christmas, probably my best ever present. I've been happily free-motion machine quilting ever since. Most of my UFO's have disappeared but I still haven't made my Dresden Plate. I will soon, I have a great collection of 1930's fabric!