There is a backdrop in our lives, literally, that might not grab your attention at first glance, but it’s there.  It’s my mother, present, in our everyday lives, despite the fact that she’s 200 miles away.  How? you might wonder.  Through her art – her quilting.  Every stitch, it seems, is sewn in love and we drape that love beneath us as often as we can so we can feel her presence even when she’s not really here.  We literally roll in it, nap on it, snuggle up with it and feel closer to her through a compilation of threads and fabrics.

This is how I remember my mother throughout my childhood (even though this picture is only a few years old, it’s reminiscent of my childhood):

And with that pose, here is what she can create…

One of the first quilts she made me…

She began a tradition to make each grandchild a quilt and present it to them on their first birthday.  First there was Joseph and his John Deere quilt…

Then along came William and a beach themed quilt…

Next was Andrew, with a bug quilt (and by this time, Mom had become an expert on her embroidery machine)…

Finally, Mom had a chance to use some pink!  Here’s Katie’s ballerina bear quilt…

Mom made me a quilt for my birthday one year (it’s the New York state star since that is my birthplace).  This is the same quilt that I snuggled under every night in my first trimester with the babies when the morning sickness was unbearable and all I wanted was to be close to my mom.

There have been other exciting projects along the way.  When I was pregnant with Andrew, for my baby shower, we supplied all the tools and each attendee made a personalized, appliqued quilt block.  Mom sewed it all together and quilted it for me.

Mom’s quilt was even there as our backdrop when our family was featured in a local magazine!

When I had a close friend almost lose his life in a helicopter crash, I asked Mom if I organized a prayer quilt…friends and family members would each make a quilt block with each stitch representing a prayer…would she put it together and quilt it for me.  Of course, she said yes.

There is the wall hanging she quilted that no Christmas would be complete without…

I see these quilts so often.  One thing I can promise is that they are used.  They don’t sit up on a shelf, collecting dust.  We use them almost every day.  It makes my heart glad (and I bet it makes Mom’s heart glad, too!).  And Mom’s house is filled with more beautiful pieces of her art (our family’s favorite is the 4th of July quilt…my kids love snuggling under that quilt every night that they sleep at Granny’s!) so the art tour has only just begun…hopefully Mom and Leslie will post more pictures soon!

Thank you, Mom, for sharing your talents and your love with us in such a tangible way.  Your art gives our lives a beautiful background to roll and tumble on!