Granny made me do it

Like so many others, I grew up watching my granny make beautiful quilts. And as all good granny's do, she gave every last one away! I would sit at the kitchen table flicking through quilting books, mesmerised by the gorgeous fabrics and impossibly intricate designs. Every so often I'd pick out one I just had to have and would ask Granny to make it for me. However, she always said that she had a long list of people who had already put in a request. I waited patiently and as the years rolled on and Granny got older I realised that I was never going to get a beautiful quilt unless I made it myself. So that's exactly what I did!

I went out and bought a second hand Toyota sewing machine for $100, my first Fiskars roller cutter and spent hours carefully selecting my fabrics. I signed up to several beginner quilting classes and at the age of 20, surrounded by a handful of lovely ladies 3.5x my age, so began my love affair with quilting. All of the material squares were cut by hand on the floor of my apartment (because my table wasn't big enough) and I quilted my final design by hand (because my sewing machine wasn't quite up to the challenge). The process took months and once complete my slightly wonky quilt sat with pride of place at the end of my bed. It certainly didn't come close to any of the stunning quilts my Granny had made, but to me it was perfect.

Over the next few years I grew bolder with my quilting designs and fell in love with the modern artistic designs that featured in galleries and boutiques. I travelled the world and wherever I went, I sought out the local quilting shops, filling suitcases with exotic fabrics. I would often have several quilts on the go (which I'm told is the mark of a true quilter) and just like my Granny, I started giving my quilts away to friends and family.

By this stage, I'd upgraded my poor Toyota sewing machine to a fancy new quilting machine and finally felt on par with the other quilting ladies who still gave me hints and tips each time I visited the quilting shops. My confidence was growing and by the time my son had turned two I was ready to produce my greatest piece of work to date. This would be a quilt just for him, that he had requested and I wasn't going to make him wait years to get it. I had in mind some beautiful designs and colours that would be just perfect for a little boy so when he asked me for a superhero quilt I knew the challenge had really been set! I trawled the internet and countless modern quilting books, but just couldn't find a design that was quite right. I knew then that I'd really have to let those creative juices flow and come up with a design myself, which is exactly what I did.

I wanted to create a timeless piece that ticked the superhero box, but would also be something that my son could use for a long time and one day give to his children and so on. Because isn't that what quilting is really all about? Creating a timeless piece to be handed down through the generations. A legacy of design, a story to tell and hopefully something that my son will proudly tell others that his mum made.

My superhero quilt took three long months to make. It was an experience and journey that I am so incredibly proud of. The joy I had in designing and making the quilt still brings me so much happiness to this day. And although I don't get as much time these days to quilt as I once did prior to having children I still sneak into fabric shops and dream of what I will make next. As for that, my first born now has a younger brother who has put in his request for a digger quilt. This is still a 'work in progress' type of project that I truly hope I can give him before his 21st birthday. And if I don't, then I'll just have to make him make it himself!