The Quilter In Me

I finished a quilt today -- that last little clipping of stray threads and signing my name. It's a good feeling. I lost count of the number of quilts I've made back around 125 -- i'm probably over 150 by now, but there is no way to be precise, and no reason.

This is a quilt for a woman who was chased out of Meterie, LA, by Katrina and has decided to make her home somewhere in Illinois. I imagine it is a big change for her. She has lived in cooler climes before, I seem to recall, but it's been a long time. So she'll need an extra quilt.

Just between you and me, I didn't make the top just for her. No, I saw a book I had to have, and just started making tops -- "just in case." In case I needed to finish a quilt in a hurry some day. I have more tops than I care to tell anyone about, tucked away. I have blocks to put together, grouped and secreted somewhere. I have fabric to use -- "just in case."

You see, a quilter makes quilts after a while, just to make quilts. It doesn't have to be for someone she knows, or someone who needs it. It is just a way of making something beautiful and useful -- and giving an excuse to buy more fabric and spend more time playing at the sewing machine. And someone saying "thank you" makes the occasional aggravation worth the while.