You might expect a quiltmaker to have a houseful of quilts, but it doesn't seem to work that way. If you love quilts and want one for your bed, it's often better to know a quilter than to be one! I hope I can say this without sounding like a braggart, but every quilter I've ever met has been generous to a fault when it comes to her work. Or, his work, in the case of the lone male quilter that I know. (If you don't believe me, just read "The Quiltmaker's Gift.") I suppose that if your best friend is a quiltmaker and you don't care for quilts, this could be a problem. You might want to consider getting a different best friend, or maybe a shrink...I mean, how can you not love quilts???
In addition to gifts for friends and family, quilters' groups and guilds almost always have a favorite charity they make quilts for, often a children's hospital or a women's shelter. When not donating entire quilts, they very often contribute blocks for a communal quilt that will be auctioned for charity, or a huge quilt that will tour the country to commemorate a particular event, again with the proceeds going to research or charity. The AIDS Quilt and the 9/11 Memorial Quilt are perhaps the most famous examples of these. (I saw the 9/11 Quilt exhibit, and it was an incredibly moving experience.) I've donated several twin-size quilts to a shelter for battered women and children, and numerous blocks throughout the years for one charity or another.
So, it's taken me 12 years, but I'm finally making a quilt for me!!! The picture above doesn't do it justice, but I'll take more as the project progresses. In fact, I decided to enter it in my guild's quilt show in July, so I now have a deadline that will force me to finish it. Without the deadline, it would remain a low priority. This way, I may get to see it on my bed someday. Talk about excitement! (It doesn't take much to make me happy.)
