Originally Posted by camillacamilla
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.
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.)