I have a very selfish reason for learning to quilt. As a child, I slept under quilts made by my grandmother and aunt. My mother has some quilts, sometimes out for display, but not used, from the 1860's, as well as several from the early 1900's through 1940's. She has told the girls in our family that the quilts are going to a museum when she is gone. So the wonderful family history will be stored two states away, no longer available for those wonderful stories we heard about the makers. No one will be able to snuggle under them. I am making quilts to hand down the tradition, and to allow my children the privilege of snuggling under a quilt made with love. Maybe someday grandchildren will do the same.
I hope this doesn't sound like a rant. I did not mean it as such. Quilts hold so much love for me, I can't imagine not passing some of that love down the line.