Slice of Life 2018 Day 25: Rainbow Quilt

My mom is an incredibly talented quilter. She began quilting as a newlywed. When she first learned how to quilt, she didn’t have any fancy tools. She used cardboard pieces as templates. Mom pieced fabrics together on her second-hand Singer sewing machine and then hand quilted intricate designs, no matter the size of the quilt. I literally cannot fathom how she made time to quilt, especially when she could not have had much time for herself.

As we grew up my mom continued to quilt. Mom made a stunning quilt as a gift for our wedding, gorgeous baby quilts for each of my children, and later twin-sized quilts for each child. In her retirement, she is active in her quilting guild, often enters her quilt in local quilt shows, and is an avid member of a mission quilting group at her church.

I love sleeping and snuggling under quilts she made for me - constant reminders of the love and care she stitched into each.

Below are two of the quilts she made for my children:

A cuddle blanket for my daughter

A quilt for my son's bed, some fabrics remnants from our wedding quilt. 

One of the memories that stands out for me from childhood involves a quilt Mom secretly made for me as a birthday gift. When I was about five or six years old I threw a tantrum in a department store for a rainbow comforter that we couldn’t afford. My mom designed a pattern similar to the comforter I wanted and made it for me. I wrote about this memory in this fifty word story:

“If you loved me, you’d buy me that rainbow comforter.” Seven-year-old Trina pleaded with her mom. Too much, Mom dimly replied.

“I never get anything new.” Ungrateful little imp.

At her next birthday, Trina opened a handstitched rainbow quilt from Mom-one she’d secretly worked on while her little girl slept.