A Stitch in Time, Saves Nine

Friends' Quilt top that I am talking about.

As a very, VERY young child I had contemplated and analyzed that expression over and over. When I think back about it, it makes me shake my head and smile.  I had wondered how one stitch could equal nine stitches? So I rationalized that the stitch size would have had to be different! Even before I realized it was referring to nine stitches, I thought it was saying I had to sew something before 9:00 and I would have saved the day! I’m sure this related to my learning to tell time when I was 4 years old, and at that point in my development, I was obsessed with clocks and numbers. Now, remember, I did say YOUNG child!  J  Of course, later in my elementary years it dawned on me that it meant fixing something, before it got worse, would be beneficial.  (ounce prevention/pound cure type thing).

Pinwheel phase!

Well, I’ve gotten totally sidetracked, but what sparked this whole blog passage, is my involvement with helping a friend preserve a memento from the past. Last year, a sweet friend of mine had mentioned off-handedly that she has a quilt top that her grandmother had made for her about 26 years ago, tucked away in a trunk. 

Ohana making herself comfortable
on one of my daughter's quilt.

Her grandmother has since passed away, her mother isn’t sewing any more, and she doesn’t sew at all. I knew that her grandmother had passed away, but the other two tidbits of info, I didn’t realize until recently.  

I remember thinking it was so sad to have a quilt just tucked away; but, we were with a group of people at the time and I didn’t follow up with additional questions.

Jelly Roll quilts, not yet assembled.
Super easy for beginners!

A few weeks ago, I was sharing a quilting story with her, and she mentioned the quilt top again.  This time I followed up with her!

In a nutshell, I am going to help her get this quilt top out from her trunk and completed it so it can finally be used. I picked it up from her office last week and we laughed how the colors she’d loved and chosen as a teenager were not going to look so dashing in her master bedroom!  J  I am going to try to bring in some darker colors and prints to use as borders and backing, to make this appear a little less girlie….  J

Working different patten layouts
for Log Cabin quilt. Other daughter's 

There is just something “special” about wrapping up in a quilt.  My grown daughters call quilts “mama hugs” or “burritos of love”. I guess you must be getting the visual of how well they wrap themselves!  They are both away from home and have their quilts with them.  They’ve both said that whenever they’re having a rough day, crawling under their quilts just seems to make the problems lessen and them feel closer to home. 

Another look with same blocks.

I’ve chronicled the quilts I’ve made by various patterns for various years.  It’s amusing to see my “pinwheel” or “log cabin” phases. 

I’ve loved every quilt that I’ve made and have found “homes” for each of them. 

Knowing that a quilt I’ve made and given away to comfort someone when they’re chilled, sick, tired, stressed, or just in the mood to feel “cozy”, makes me feel as though I’ve achieved that “stitch in time!”

A more "toned-down" version of
the Christmas quilt.

If you don’t sew or quilt, I hope you’ll realize it’s never too late to learn. And what a great thing to pass on to someone, be it the skill of sewing or the quilt itself!