Saying "good-bye" to a new quilt - - -
 

Do any of you have a "ritual" that you go through when you send a quilt you have made on its way?

Maybe a prayer for the person that you made it for?

If you don't know who it's for - "donation/love" quilts - special thoughts for the recipient?

Hopes that the recipient will value it?

I worry that it will get there. I always put a note in the box to let me know when it is received. I have a tendency to look at it for quite a while, and take one last picture before it goes.

I've never really thought of what happens to a quilt after I gift it. Although sometimes I get pictures sent to me with it in them. That's nice.

I guess I just hope that someone will be kept warmed by or will use each quilt. I don't care who...sometimes a quilt may take a journey along it's life, but as long as it serves a purpose, I'm happy with that. One of the first 2 quilts I made (for my 2 DD's) was kept in my trunk for over a year. She moved a few times and had to downsize. DH, DS and I used that quilt to sit on when we had ice cream way out in the boonies, used it to help pack things safely for transportation, to keep extra warm in the car... Until DD saw it again and took it out of my trunk reclaiming it for herself once again. I'm alright with whatever path the quilts I've made will take, as long as they're being used.

All my quilts, throws and wall hangings have all been hand delivered. I do hope that they are all well used and loved!

I sort of do it whilst I'm working on it. All my quilts/gifts are washed before giving and that's a bit stressful (I worry about things running/falling to bits), then I go over it carefully in case of 'muck ups', loose threads etc. So when I give it, it is my best work. Then I just hope they really like it and I got it right in the colour/design department.

I give them a hug when I mail them off and just hope they get there. One time, I gifted a baby quilt to a relative who was having a baby years ago. Didn't know them well, but they were relatives. They soon after moved far away. Met up at a family funeral years later. The wife searched me out to tell me how much the quilt meant to them, and thank-you again. So, what we think are gifts and presents, others often think of as treasures and ways of remembering us. Not a bad outcome for a hobby........

I almost always say a few prayers for the recipient as I am making the quilt. I think when you are thinking of a person knowing or not knowing who will receive the item, is a prayer in itself. If it is for someone I know, I will usually ask for a picture of that person, especially if it is a baby, with the quilt. Thank usually makes the quilt look a lot better.

Yes, actually I do! While I am making the quilt I think of the person who will get it often, memories of that person or wishes for them for the future. When it is completed, before I give it away, I will wrap it around me, say a prayer for them, and ask the quilt to give them lots of love and hugs from me throughout their lives, hoping it brings them warmth and comfort. Then I feel ok giving it away. Crazy??? Maybe!! But I give my quilts away with a lot of love wrapped in them. I do the same with the ones I give to charity. Happy quilting!!

I add a label saying the quilt was made for someone special.
Hope this makes them feel special and that someone was thinking of them.

This is very similar to how I get my quilts ready to gift. Including the continuous positive thoughts throughout the process of making it. I also go over the quilt on both sides, double checking for issues and clipping any missed threads, lint, etc. that might be on it. The last thing I do is fold it carefully so that I can then fold the corner with the label back making the label the first thing they see. Many of my quilts are mailed so we also make sure that the label is top up in the package. I know that when one of my quilts is received it has all the love I can put into it.