I haven't read through all of the responses but when you make a quilt each seam and color choice is a hug or a prayer for that persons well being. We all have our strengths and skills ours just happens to be sewing and we love the creative avenues that open to us through quilting. My grand mother was a quilter, my mother collected fabric, notions, buttons, thread, cook books. Me I love to sew and share that love with others. So anyone can go out and buy a blanket or a throw, but it won't have that gift of love that is sewn in and therefore it is just a blanket. I didn't get to spend much time with my grandma but I knew the love she had for me every time I wrapped myself in the quilt that she had sewn for me.