Fabric Magic

My mother sewed a lot as I was growing up. When I was about 10 years old she began to teach me. I fell in love with the magical process of turning pieces of fabric into an article of clothing or craft item. In those days, sewing your own clothes saved lots of money. I discovered that I could have a much bigger wardrobe by making my own. When I had children, I sewed for them (sometimes Joel, too) and every once in awhile I experienced temporary insanity and made them all Halloween costumes or pajamas for Christmas. As fabric became more expensive, it was less economical to sew for them, and it also became so overwhelming to make Easter and Christmas dresses for six girls. By the time most of them were teenagers my sewing really slacked off with only an occasional craft project, costume for a show, or just mending to keep my sewing machine busy. In recent years I've picked it up again, but this time my passion is quilts. It is so satisfying to have that magical experience with fabric, turning many pieces into one quilt. I give most of the quilts I make away and realize I should have been taking photos all along to remember them, so from now on I'll be making that pictorial record. This picture is the fall quilt I made for myself this year, pieced by me, machine quilted by Sew'n'Save, and bound by Melissa. (Click on the picture for a close-up of the darling quilted oak leaves and pumpkins.)