Life Down On The Farm

By popular demand, (okay it was one person, but a girl can dream can't she?) I have been asked to blog about the t-shirt quilt I made for Becky. This quilt, the result of four years of high school t-shirts, was the easiest quilt I have ever made, and also the hardest. The pattern was simple, but the memories all these shirts brought back made it tough to work on. My kids are not the kind of kids who just go to school and don't get involved...if there is something to do chances are one, if not more, of my kids are involved. That means t-shirts for almost every single one of those events...hence the huge quilt with 30 shirts, and some extras we didn't use!

I am having a difficult time with Becky graduating and moving so far away and spending so much time with all her t-shirts just reminded me how much I am going to miss her. I struggled when Brian left and two years later I still miss him like crazy. It will be hard to let Becky go, but for me part of letting go means making a quilt they can take with them to remind them that mom loves them. What better way to feel the love of your mom when you are far away than with a quilt that she made? Brian's wasn't a t-shirt quilt, his was made from fabric with guitars on it, but the thought was the same...."stay warm, stay safe and remember I love you".

My mom taught me a lot of things when I was growing up, but I have to say the one that means the most to me right now is that she taught me to sew. When my kids were little I made most of their clothes, just like my mom did for me. As they grew, and outgrew having mom make their clothes, I found a new way to give a little of myself to them...quilts. Nothing feels better than watching your child climb into bed under a pile of quilts that you made for them. Living in an old drafty farmhouse it is often cold, and knowing that I am helping them stay warm means a lot to me. My heart melted the day Brian came home from college, with his graduation quilt tucked in beside his dirty laundry. He told me he slept better with the quilt because it was the warmest blanket he had. Nothing prepares you for the time your son, that little boy who is now a man, thanks you in his own way..and doesn't even know he did it. Quilting is my therapy...bad day at work...work on the quilt, nothing on television worth watching...work on the quilt, feeling sad that your kids are growing up too fast and moving away...work on the quilt to send with them. Many years ago my mom had an old, old quilt that she had made when I was a little girl. She was going to throw it away because it had gotten torn and tattered. I took it because it represented so much to me...I remembered a lot of the fabric in the squares from clothes I wore as a child, and just the fact that my mom had made it made it special to me. I hope someday my children will look at the quilts I have made for them and feel the same way.

I can look at every single shirt on Becky's quilt and remember every single event it represents. I know Becky can too...and now she can look at them and remember every single time I told her I loved her and wrap herself in my love even when she is far, far from home. As the magnet on my refrigerator says "Blessed are the children of the piece makers, for they shall inherit the quilts".