― Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter
When my first born requested a quilt, he asked for a "real" one, which meant hand pieced and hand stitched. He grew up watching me bring quilts to soccer, baseball, track and cross country meets where I was either hand piecing or hand quilting. Don't tell him but it was to help me keep my sanity. He wanted a very traditional quilt made in earth tones and so that is what he got. He took the quilt to college with him. I was touched that it was something he insisted upon taking. When his best friend spilled soup on it and asked,"What's the big deal? It's just a blanket," he did not speak to her for a week. Just a few years later, his dog Fletch would eat a hole through it and my offers to repair it went unheeded. I suspect it has been thrown away and while this saddens me, it's just a thing.
When my second son asked for a quilt, he wanted a contemporary one done in black and white. He choose Karen Stone's paper pieced "Spinning Stars" pattern. When I kept sneaking in other colors, he put his hands on his hips and said, "You just cannot follow rules, can you?" Only later to admit that he really liked that the quilt was not just black and white.
He is a minimalist by choice. He does not wish to own things but got quite distressed when his quilt started crocking. I will admit to being surprised since I used a Kaufman black, but nothing lasts forever. So I have been doing repair something I do not find particularly exciting and it reminds why I gave up quilt restoration many years ago. It always takes more time than expected. I am surprised that the metallic thread I used to quilt it has held up so well. No breaking or problems. I just figured out that the quilt is 17 years old. Time certainly flies. I suspect more repairs will be in its future until it simply cannot be repaired anymore. Have you repaired a quilt that you have made?
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