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| My niece Jami, a very quilt-worthy recipient and absolute doll. |
The other day at lunch, the McCall's girls were discussing a topic that EVERYONE had stories and strong opinions about...who is quilt-worthy? It seemed each of us had at least one story of making a special gift quilt only to find out that the recipient either didn't appreciate it, abused it, or in some other way proved to be not worthy of the quilt. What to do? Opinions varied on that. Some people had given up making gift quilts, while others had taken a more zen approach, learning to "let it go" once the quilt was gifted. How about you? Have you ever given a gift quilt only to find the recipient unworthy? What did you do about it?
I was glad to read your post and learn that people in your circle report having unpleasant stories about quilt-worthyness. I've been waiting to see if there were additional comments.
ReplyDeleteI guess there is a certain amount of fear when I ship a quilt to someone and am not at all sure they understand the time, the work, the energy, and the devotion that goes into this fabric art.
We all live in a time when all our material possessions are disposable, and can be returned if something goes wrong with it or its not quite the right color for the room or the right size. Most folks don't get it, and like some of you, it makes me sad.
However, I create my quilts for myself first just for the love of it. That is my real joy and real goal. I see myself as still learning and my quilts at this stage as practice pieces. This might make me have that Zen approach as a coping skill. If the piece is important to me, then I won't let it go.
You raise a really good point. We quilt for the love of it, and if a piece is important to us, we can always hold onto it. Quilt-worthy people are very special to me. I LOVE giving a quilt to someone who really appreciates it. Maybe we should only give quilts to other quilters!
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