Do you display them? Promptly put them on the bed for use and love? Give them away? I must admit, for the most part I am STINGY. I put so much time and effort into handquilting, and I feel it is my art. So I store them away. I have to stop doing that! Somewhere in my mind, when I am dead and gone, some great-great-great-great niece/nephew whatever will marvel at the time and effort put into it, and maybe know who I was.

My father died almost a year ago, and when it isn't so painful, I plan to take his old work shirts and "going to see his girlfriend" shirts and make quilts for my niece and nephew, his only grandchildren. Oh, I have to explain the "going to see his girlfriend shirts"..my mother died in 1990. Daddy had a girlfriend since 2000 that died in 2007. He had his work clothes (he had his own logging/timbercutting business), and then there were his good clothes he would wear to take his girlfriend to dinner or the movies. Those quilts I will give to them, with a tag on the back stating who he was, and why he was special. My other quilts, though, I will probably still be stingy with, lol.

Most of my quilts are just lap size and tied, because I donate them. The rest of mine have been either gifts or for my granddaughter. I'm still for on a Triple Irish Crown for me, probably won't be done before the year anniversary.LOL But if you want to keep them, do so, except you might run out of room and beds. LOL

Most of the quilts that I have made have been given away as wedding, baby, birthday, graduation and thank you for watching my animals gifts. I have donated several as well. I have about 10 around the house, a couple on each bed and several in the living room on a rack. I have 2 more here that I will finish soon that are for me (for now) they will get folded and put on the quilt rack so I can show them to all my friends when they come by. Make sure you take pictures of them all before you fold up or give away. I got pictures of most of my quilts, except most of the pictures were taken on a regular camera and I have no idea where the copies of those pictures are. All my current ones are on my digital camera and I have a folder on the computer just for the quilts I have made.

I use them. I display them and I give them away.

I agree with what has been said here there is only so much room in this house. When I give a quilt away I hope it will be used.

I have been making quiilts for about 20 yrs. The ones that I used to hand quilt are all given to my kids. Since I not longer hand quilt most all of them go to a long armer to be quilted or I tie them. Some I have sold. Some have been given for charity and others are gifts etc. I have kept a few, but for the most part I want people to use them and enjoy them . Yes, it is hard to let some of them go, especially if I like the pattern or color or the time it took to make them. Marge

Most of them are given away, mostly Christmas gifts, some wedding, some baby shower gifts, One going away and some birthday ones. My kids have one or two, my husband has one and I have one halloween one that was finished a week after halloween 2 years ago. Oh, and one to help raise money for a big school field trip. There is a long list of people that have them on their wish list. I have pics of most of them, one or two I am missing but know where they are. I put the time and effort and love into them for the people that they are going to. I am investing in them, though I don't hand quilt them. Each one was made with a specific person or people in mind. I am of the mind that I put all that work into them for them to be used.

What a wonderful sentiment to make quilts from your dad's shirts. Just to know he felt special and dressed up in those clothes should make any recipient remember your dad very fondly. I think that is so neat. It's a great way to remember our loved ones and do a little "green" too!

All the quilts I make are given away. I have one ugly one on my bed. I have decided that after doing this for the last 15 years, that from now on the quilts will be for me.....well after I finish the one I'm making for my niece's baby LOL.

Oh and they were all hand pieced & hand quilted and being used every day by the people they were given to.

one wallhanging in the works (sigh) for my sister. one on the wall
(100 x 100) for me. 30 years worth for my kids. some to use, some to show.

oh, and two twins and one queen that i tied off for our ex-beach house.
too heavy to hang (blankets for batts). don't know what will happen there.

loads of cheater's baby quilts. they throw up all over anyway. why waste the time and money? i know - that's awful of me! lot's of baby's real wallquilts.

My kids and grand daughter all have many quilts on their beds. I finally got a couple for my bed. I have a hard time giving them away. I am now getting ready to do one for my sister. SHHHHH. Don't tell her. It's a surprise. LOL

My "Just John" quilt is hanging on the wall the rest I use or give away. I do commission work too so those go to the clients when I get through with them.

Sybil

I did do a wall hanging for my dad and am doing three baby quilts for my nieces. First ones I have given away.

I do not own one quilt that I made that is finished. I have given them all away! I find that by the time I finish them, I don't like them anymore..LOL Mostly I just get sick of them after working on them for sooo long. I enjoy seeing others use them though:)

Lynette

I love to sew I love to Quilt and create. I love how it makes me feel when I give something that I have made to someone . Feeling good is a good feeling. Every thing that I have given has made someone else happy too.

I take pictures of every quilt I make...now!
It wasn't always so when I first started out!
I have given away a ton of quilts...some my sis put away even though I specified they were for using for the kids...a ton of baby quilts...birthday quilts, etc...
I have about 5 or 6 that are in the closet for me...one I made early on and you can see the sloping of my flying geese blocks...hehe!
I have 3 more quilt tops awaiting...
2 more to be quilted....
3 quilts cut and waiting to be put together...
I have no idea what I will do with these nor any future ones...
Kirsten

Define 'finished'. It's not in any quilting dictionary I have seen.

tim in san jose

I've kept most of my quilts. Last Nov.11th I lost my best friend after a year long battle with the C word. Realizing life is short I started giving them away to great friends and family. I'm very happy about my decision to do this and so are they! :D :D :D

I have kept most of mine I'm afraid! I made one 'to order' for my Mum and Dad and Mum chose the fabrics - yeuch, they were not my taste at all and I got sick of looking at them! I vowed after that I would make quilts for others but ONLY with fabrics I chose! I made her 5 appliqué cushions with a flying geese border for Christmas using quite bright fabrics that I chose and she LOVED them but said she would never have DARED choose the individual fabrics herself! I think maybe non-quilters have trouble seeing how yardage can translate into a quilt when its cut up and pieced.

But when I see how very generous and productive all you ladies are, it makes me feel ashamed! I MUST be more generous AND less 'precious' about what I make. Most of mine are hung on the wall so they don't get 'spoiled' and that is NOT a good attitude to have! My kids have one each on their beds though and they just look better and better the more they're washed - there's a lesson in there somewhere!

K x

Hi,

I have probably made over a hundered quilts of various sizes in the more than 40 years I have been doing this. Several were actually worn out with use on our beds. I have lots of smaller ones that were challenges or that I made as mementos of various trips we took. I usually manage to find a fabric shop everywhere we go. The first 20+ years I was married we had a queen size waterbed. The quilts I made for it don't fit my present air bed so I had an excuse to make more. I also am a prolific maker of Linus quilts and I make quilts as baby presents etc. All of my step-children and their children have at least one quilt. My nieces and nephews are reproducing and their children also get quilts .
I do handquilting for hire so many quilts have passed through my hands that I don't now possess. I just finished an I Spy quilt to give to my daughter's former college roommate for her little girl. If my daughter ever has a child I know I will be making quilts for him or her. In fact I have a baby quilt made and ready in which I used Sunbonnet Sue and Sam blocks that my mother pieced and appliqued before her death.

I give some of them away to friends for just being nice to us, babies, etc., and then of course to Project Linus and the rest are piled on a guest bed under an ugly comforter until I can get DH to build me a house so I can display them. Oh...I do have a couple on the sofa.

What a wonderful heirloom this will be! And how fantastic are you? 100 quilts, wow! :D

K x

i make for gifts. :D

I have given away all of my quilts. Someday, I'll make one just for ME!!! (I am keeping a wall hanging though that I just finished hand quilting -- does that count as a quilt??? :roll: )

I give away a lot- baby quilts for gifts, gifts to raffle for reunions and now, quilts to raffle for AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) to raise funds for a local chapter. Family have some, alas, I do not!

But I find that's like the carpenter who's house is in disrepair, I won't have a quilt. My 2009 Project list includes a quilt for me. Now lets see if I get to that number on the list. :)

Oh, I also do Project Linus and was given a request from a local women's shelter for children for quilts for little ones- up to age 5. So off to the machine I go....

Barb

i don't blame you! very few people realize the work that goes into a quilt.
my kids have the most. i have ONE for the wall, some utility ones. blah.

i am also making a secret one for my sister's wall, Sister's Choice,

i have a lot of trouble giving them away to anyone but family.

I give almost all of mine away, to wounded soldier projects (via Soldier's Angels or Quilts of Valor), or through my guild to the local battered women's shelter. I made a quilt and wall-hanging for a nephew, and have a UFO (for several years now) of a Stack-n-Whack lap quilt that is for me - if I ever get around to finishing it. Someday I hope to make a really nice quilt for our CA-King Bed, but aren't ready to tackle it yet. I keep looking for the "perfect" pattern, and the "perfect" fabric (may have to redo the room to match the quilt, rather than trying to find fabric to coordinate with the rest of the room!).

:lol:

I have given away a lot of the quilts that I have made, but most of them were for family members (sons, daughters, grands, in-laws, etc). Most of my quilts are utility and I make them to be used. It makes me feel good to go to my kids' homes and see my quilts thrown over the back of the sofa where they are snuggled under, or to see one of my granddaughters curled up in a chair looking at a book under her quilt. The only quilts I have kept for myself are seasonal wallhangings or round robin quilts that I made with friends. Most of those never get finished!

Hello,

Your someday going to make a quilt out of your father's clothing just touched me heart....memory quilts are fabulous and will be cherished for years, great idea. You can also add photos to quilts.

What do I do with my quilts when they are done? Well.....I have them on every bed in my house (I need more beds!) and I have seasonal ones I use in their season, I have two floor quilt racks with 2-3 on each, and have two wall quilt racks with a quilt or a seasonal wall hanging displayed. I have one on the back of my couch just sorta thrown (like on HGTV decorating shows!) and one draped on an old wooden chair for looks. I have some in the closet and have some at the lake place and some not done in my sewing room!
I give them to family and friends and as gifts. All my family have seasonal table runners and pillow wraps for the seasons.
I am over run with quilts and should give some away again...
I always say that if the furnace goes out up here in northern Minnesota we won't be cold....I have quilts!
I enjoy my quilts and use them all the time.

Bev

I became seriously addicted to quilting about 5 yrs ago . . .although I had pieced and tied quilts off and on for about 20 years . .. just a couple for the kids or myself. In the past 5 years though, I've made five or six quilts just for the house . . .the two bedrooms and one for the living room . . .I have also made and given each of my daughter's very close college friends a quilt - the colors were their favorites or the design tied in to their interests or nicknames or such. I gave one to my middle son and his wife. Now I have two more sons & dil's to make for, and it's time to start on the 11 grandchildren. I have deliberately delayed the grandkids to give them time to get old enough to have a twin-sized quilt that they can drag around the house with them. I really can't see putting all that work into a quilt that will not be a keeper forever or until worn-out for them.

Oh yes, I now keep a picture of each quilt - all by itself and if possible one with its new owner. And I don't just store them on the computer, because computers have been known to crash - they have their own little photo album LOL

Can't really say at the moment, because I am only on my second quilt, but have ideas for quilt 3 and 4.
I believe I will give some to charity and such, but frankly, what keeps me going and not having a lot of UFOs is thinking, This will be on my bed when I'm done etc. Motivation for me.
Perhaps I'll change my mind in the future, I've only been doing this since about July,(what can I say - I'm slow)

I just love this topic and reading everyone's replies! I'm new to quilting and just finishing my 3rd. So far they have been gifts to friends and family. My goal is to make a quilt for every immediate family member. I would love to make a couple for myself and also a few wall hangings and table toppers, but I just feel this overwhelming urge to wrap my family up first, LOL. Also, I just joined a Guild, so there's a challenge quilt and charity quilts. And I just have to have a few baby quilts on hand for gifts. I guess that makes me a giver of quilts instead of a hoarder for now. But I do see hoarding in my future. Hopefully near future :D

i don't have to worry about what is done with my quilts because my daughter absolutely loves them and she makes off with one or 2 every time she visits. (she lives 800 miles from me) :cry:
but i still have my favorite ones on my beds and couch and chairs, anywhere i can find a place for one.

I took my mother nice dresses and made a quilt. On the back, I made a label from nice solid color fabric with her picture, the date she was on earth and what she enjoyed.
I did the same with my father neck ties.
I also made a king size & a full size comfort with the wool skirt I had in college. My husband likes it when I get it out and he can remember when I wore that skirt.
Don't save your quilts, enjoy them as the next person may not understand all the time you put into them. I have friends who's grandmother made beautiful quilts and they use them to sit on the ground at social events. Just makes me sick to see them used that way.

I think it's great that you will give the quilts a purpose. Most of the quilts that I have made are made for a purpose (or for a certain person). The other day, I was working on one of my D9P and my DH ask, "Who are you making this one for?" I told him I was doing it just to be doing it. He had the most puzzled look on his face.

I can't count the quilts that I've made (please understand that some of them were whole cloth, tied quilts to be used and used, others were quillows -- but I still consider those quilts) The only ones that I hand quilted are here, but those are few. I also have the first one I've made.
I've made many bazaar" quilts. Those were auctioned. Most of my baby gifts are little quilts -- machine stitched, of course. I include a note with the quilt: This is not an heirloom quilt. Baby can sleep, play, pee, poo, and puke on it. Toss it in the washer and dryer and it's ready to go again.
After Hurricane Katrina, I worked with a group of ladies that made quilts for that cause.

I've made a couple of prayer quilts for a little cancer patient who travels to St. Jude's for treatment. He outgrew the first one, so I made him a larger one this time. In the first one, I included a pocket to carry a little book; this last one, I made a matching pillow and a larger pocket to keep the pillow. (Please pray for Luke.)

I'm doing the same thing. I lost my mom in 1996 and my dad in 2005. I have most of their clothes, like you someday I want to make my sister and I a quilt out of them. About a year ago I finally started cutting up some of moms and my a few blocks. The emotions comes and goes. If it was something real special I remember her wearing- the tears start and I have to put it away for awhile. someday I'll get it done and I will cherish it forever. good luck with your project.

A lot of mine have a purpose. I have this underlying goal to provide a quilt for everyone in my family. The kids each have one, my mom, my MIL, working on grandparents', have done baby quilts for neices and nephews,... there's more to do.

I put them out there to be loved. Whether by my immediate family or extended.

You're supposed to finish them???? :lol: :lol:

I've given away everything I've finished. I have one sitting on the loveseat right now that needs to be tied--I'm not quilting this one. I just can't find the ambition.

I have a top finished in a bag and I'm starting on what may end up being a table runner and placemat set. I also have a portion of a X-mas quilt in a bag.

*sigh*

That's a positive way of healing. Do as much as you can.

well, been sewing forever, but somewhat new to quilting. The queen size I did many, many years ago i around here somewhere. Has one small place that seam needs attention. It has been used by whole family.
two baby quilts have been used with children and now grandchildren.
Have sooo many bundles that I picked yardages and hopefully are coordinated. Each one has a person's name on it written in my heart.
Many bundles for close friends and even some for me. I guess I must be saving myself and hubby for last, lol. I want everyone's to be done well, but love the fabrics in my bundles...and my girls wouldn't want the ones I like...lol,...want these to turn out real well. It's not a selfish thing or a pride thing, it's got something to do, I guess, with, being an only girl with five brothers, growing up alone and always putting myself last. Someday I am going to make that little girl her very own quilt. Maybe even 2 or 3.
Have many plans for donating also. I guess we just want to fill the world with quilts. It will be hard to see them go, but I will definitely take several pics of each one. I fall in love with my projects...like pets, lol.
I have resigned myself to the reality that once something is given away, it is the recipients choice to do with as they please and i will have to grin and bear it. I know, I am sentimental. Not a commodity in today's world. I guess it's an "oddity". oh well. :wink: