7 Bins of Fabric

I remember watching as a young girl, watching our Filipina Seamstress making outfits for my Mom and taking that inspiration to my Raggedy Ann sewing machine to make clothes for my dolls. That started my love of sewing but unfortunately, it didn't stick. I had forgotten over the years how much I enjoyed sewing and making things. I managed to make a few projects over the years but mostly the machine collected dust as marriage and kids took over my creative attention. Then May 29, 2020 changed things. I received the call that my Mom had passed away suddenly and without notice. She was in her sewing room surrounded by her many treasures and fabric. She was actually working on a quilt for one of her grandkids for his graduation and also planning a quilt for my daughter’s wedding that was put off because of… well COVID. So in the midst of the pandemic, I had to travel out to Oregon from Maine for my Mom’s funeral and to clean out her craft room. My stepdad didn’t know what to do with any of it and I needed to have her things surrounding me. It took a week to go through everything and get it ready. There were days in that week that I would just sit in the middle of everything and just sob, a creative loving soul gone too soon. In a 7X7 cube I packed up her treasured embroidery machine, all her sewing knick knacks, gadgets and 7 large bins of fabric and sent it off to the basement of my “in-laws” house in Maine..... and there it waits for me.

Over the winter I went through her things, reminiscing over the little things that brought so many wonderful memories of my mother. Among the treasures were several pairs of Fiskars scissors. I have my own Fiskars but there is something about using the scissors Mom used… gives me comfort! Mom had a love of quilting. If she was near a quilt shop she had to stop and was always buying fabric for a family quilt or at the very least the idea of a quilt! So in Mom’s honor, I have decided to start a quilting project. I started with a small wall quilt that I actually started piecing together a few years ago. When I started, I remember Mom being so excited for me to finish the project. In the end, Mom gave me the inspiration to work on it again when I found the material in her stash to finish the front of the project. Now I need to design the back and put it together. This made me think of all the projects I had seen as I put Mom’s things in boxes and bins for shipping. Mom easily had 4 quilts that are in various stages of either design, cut, or pieced together. This gave me the idea to finish those projects and then see what else I can create with her 7 bins of fabric! The quilting project for my Mom will start as soon as I can get all of her fabric out of storage.

I am really looking forward to the inspiration Mom brings as I piece together her ideas and create new projects with all of her hand selected fabrics collected over the years! The first quilt that I will start with will be the one for my youngest daughter. Finishing a quilt from Mom will bring joy after a year of sorrow and disappointment! Mom had designed and picked the fabric so it will be a challenge for me to put her vision together. I am sure cutting and sewing each block together will help to heal a little bit of the brokenness inside and fill me with joy!