Quilt Transitions Through A Generation

I don't remember when I first learned to sew. Both Grandmothers sewed, my mom was a fabulous sewist, even my babysitter sewed. I remember taking my dolls' dresses apart to use them as a pattern to make new ones. My mom started quilting in the late 70's. I was busy with high school, then college. I, for the most part stopped sewing, as I moved around the country for my career. All the while, my mom made me beautiful quilts.

Transitions

My mom was very active, then was suddenly cut down with cancer. Her last wish was to teach me to use her machines and I willingly listened and learned throughout the summer of 2010. September 2010, my mom passed away and left me two beautiful Baby Lock sewing/embroidery machines and a HUGE fabric stash.
 




I moved truck loads of sewing stuff to my house and tried for months to make sense of it. I was not sure I wanted to quilt or embroider, until I found some pictures of quilts on the Flickr group Fresh Modern Quilts. It changed how I felt about quilts. Flipping through the Internet searching for modern quilts I found Melissa Cory's quilt Sugar Pop N Change and I kept going back to stare at it. At the same time, I was organizing my new stash and realized I had a tremendous amount purples and blues. I also wanted to add some embroidery that was subtle and modern. I found these cool dragonfly designs at Urban Threads. (somewhere I read that dragonflies signify transition in some cultures). So in Feb 2011, I did a 3 day retreat with some of my mothers quilting friends and created this quilt. At that time, I had never quilted a quilt so I had Sue Hodge long-arm quilt it with spirals. All of the fabric in this quilt was from my mother's stash. The pattern was my transition to modern quilts. 

Pieced back with left-overs from the front

Quilting has become a passion, it makes me feel close to mom. I feel like she's watching and I think she's pleased!

I'm linking up with Amy's Creative Side for the Bloggers' Quilt Festival. Go over and check out some of the other great quilts and quilt stories!

Color Me Quilty!

Pat