Quilting Under Stress

Once upon a time long ago back in 1970 , my granny gave me a tin and started me doing hexy patchwork , whenever im stressed I quilt , its always hexys . I quilt on the machine when the urge takes me , I will never win awards , I use recycled fabric and the thread is usually the dearest part of the whole quilt . Having had a hellish year the pink quilt of doom is growing and has got to lap blanket stage just ready for winter...lol

yep ...I still use the same tin 

But I still have the first quilt i started in 1970 , its just a king sized quilt top , but it holds so many memories , scraps of clothes i wore as a child , the purple PE skirt I hated so much , dresses my mother left behind, all sorts of unsuitable mix and match fabrics ,just added whenever i felt stressed,  a few silk ones rotted and had to be replaced , It went missing when i got divorced and 10 years down the line my ex handed me it in a bin bag and ran . He'd tried to rip it in half knowing how much that would hurt me  , it took me weeks to repair the damage ,you couldnt hide the damage so i didnt try to.

 I remember sunny afternoons curled up in a ball with the kids reading poetry to them when they were tiny. Even a couple of hexys with bits of scribble  Sitting with my granny scolding me for my stitches being uneven , looking at the center they were terrible back then but as the quilt grew over the years they got better and better . I finished it just before i got married. Its faded and worn and has lived a long and useful life . I just hope that when im gone one of them loves it like i do and it doesnt end up on a thrift shop shelf . I always think thats such a sad fate for a handmade quilt .