The first quilt my mom made and hand-quilted for me sat years and years on the large wooden quilt frame that only fit in our living room. For what felt like eternity, the quilt on the frame was a fixture of our house. I walked past it daily, played and watched TV nearby, all while knowing that when my mom finished it, it would be mine. All mine–I didn’t have to share and it wasn’t going to be passed on or down from a sibling. I think it felt like a long time partly because that is simply how time passes when you are a kid, very slowly.

When I received my college graduation quilt in the mail from my mom a mere year, maybe year and a half, after I had received my diploma, I called her to let her know it arrived and how much I loved it. The yellow and blue-purple fabrics, the chicken hand-quilted near the bottom. I also marveled at her speed. She replied that of course she had gotten it completed quickly, because she didn’t have us kids around bugging her!

For my entire life, I have slept under a quilt made by someone I know. That is, I have never slept under a quilt made to be sold in a big box or department store. I believe that I get good sleep because of this. I despise big, fluffy comforters. You’re doing it wrong, I think when someone tries to explain down and duvets. At one of my past jobs, I wrote descriptions of both “factory” quilts and comforters. I was privy to a conversation or email chain that included a member of the buying department. She explained that quilts were actually summer bedding, because they’re thinner and cooler than their winter counterparts, the dreaded comforter. Again, I thought, you’re doing it wrong. Just layer your quilts (like I do). The weight of 2-3 quilts is comforting. And, when your mom is a prolific quilter and has been your entire life, you have the 2-3 quilts required to keep you warm when the temperature dips to 20F or colder at night.

Quilts have always been in the backdrop of my life, but I have never endeavored to make my own. In fact, I have told my mom that I wouldn’t take up quilting until she was unable to keep me and my family “covered,” in which case, by necessity and my desire to always sleep under a quilt and for my children to do the same as long as they are living under my roof, I would take up the craft. We haven’t reached that point, but I am already dabbling in the art.

My mom liked something quilty on Facebook, which made it pop up in my feed. It caught my eye, and I went down a rabbit hole of modern quilts. I thumbed through photos and photos of textile eye-candy. A few months later, I joined the Modern Quilt Guild. A year later, I signed up for a block of the month program. Another year later and I am setting out on my own quilt project.