How to Create Memories that will Live for Years

Most of us are aware of the Law of Attraction, the ability to attract what's positive or negative by how we focus our energy. The law is easy when things are good, not so easy when things are going badly.

Last week, I was focused on quilts. I had visited the barn quilt trail, wrote a blog about it, made some quilt inspired tiles and ornaments. Then in a mad rush got all the new work on the website before publishing the blog. All the quilt stuff finished, I started focusing on a commission. Then the phone rang with a friend asking me to dinner. I knew she was decluttering her home. Proudly showing me all the empty space in her closet. She turned to me, pointing at the bed, and asked if I'd like to have one of her granny's handmade quilts. Naturally, I said, "yes." It was such a fitting end to my quilted week, I needed to share it with you all.

One of the many hand sewn and hand quilted patchwork quilts my friend’s granny made for her family of five.

When I've told this story, the first question I'm asked is, "Is it beautiful?" It's not, but like most things handmade and like the origins of the Barn Quilt Trail, it's filled with love. Willie Mae, my friend Nancy's granny, was a farmer from birth and never wasted anything. Her quilts were made from her old dresses, scraps, and flour sacks, all stitched by hand. She was practical, and the option of buying beautifully gradated colored fabric wasn't there. Married with five kids, her husband worked at the Coats and Clarks factory while they both ran the farm for love and income. When Nancy sees these quilts, she's brought back to her preteen years of picking fruit, making ice cream, and learning to make sausage with her grandparents and cousins. They raised cows and chickens, kept bees, and a large vegetable garden with flowers growing along the fences. They supplied the family's families with milk, butter, ice cream, honey, and fresh vegetables for most of Nancy's growing up years. She has great memories of eating ice cream wrapped in her granny's quilts with her cousins. I hope you're creating cherishable memories with your family while hunkered down.

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Here are some of the color combinations I've come up with for my quilted art tiles this past week.