GenkiJapanMissions: Quilting for Necessity, Quilting for Fun

"She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands." Proverbs 31:13

The butterfly quilt was sewn in 1940. My grandma had just gone off to college in Lawton and worked on this quilt a little at a time with her mother back home in Granite. One thing I love about this quilt is the fabric. You can see a shift in taste of print from the 1930's & 1940's until......well....now! I love the fact that it is yellow. Very inviting and happy! My grandma was jubilant to see my interest in quilting. I loved asking her about the good ole' days just to see the differences between what we experienced at the same ages."You're quilting for fun", she quoted "We quilted out of necessity."

It wasn't until after her death that I finally began to learn how to quilt with a machine.

Though this isn't the group (obviously) that taught me how to quilt, I can see why they seem to be having a great time. I'm guessing this quilt was being made for someone. Sometimes, women had large quilting bees to provide a heirloom for an upcoming bride, or expecting mother, or a home-bound widow. I heard it best last year when someone in my Sunday school class mentioned that most women have lost the ability to create with their hands. That comment struck me in the heart, she was right.

So I picked up 8 months ago where I wanted to start in the first place and finished my first quilt, and then my next, then the next and so on. I'm happy to say I've recently finished my 8th quilt and am half way finished with my 9th. Some of these quilts were inspired by others, some I actually came up with on my own. I've lain in bed at night thinking of great color sequences. I'm not obsessed, not yet at least. But I think I've found the ability to create with my hands.

These are the quilts I've finished!