It never fails to amaze me how you can take different fabrics, cut up the pieces and sew them together in a specific order to create these amazing, beautiful, stunning works of art. But sometimes it ends up not being about the quilt, but the one receiving it.

My Hubs immediate family all live in the area. We get together for just about every holiday, birthday and family celebration. Over the years, we’ve added to our immediate family by “adopting” other in: friends from years past and my brother-in-law’s sister’s family. As with all families with kids, they eventually graduate from high school. Now I’ve been blessed with wonderful in-laws and extended family. They are a bunch of “shirt-off-your-back” kind of people. My sister-in-law-once-removed and her family really strive to bless everyone they meet with their words and actions. They live a life with an attitude of gratitude. When the in-law kiddo graduated from high school and I gifted him with a quilt, I was the one who was blessed.

I have to admit, I think buying or making a quilt for a boy is hard. I agonized a bit about what to do and what colors to put in the quilt. In the end I chose a brown and blue and a nice herringbone pattern that wasn’t too out there. I wanted the quilt to last over time and not be too trend driven in the style. I think I hit the right chord.

Now I enjoyed making the quilt but it was the look on the graduate’s face that was the best part of the whole process. He didn’t know about the quilt and was so excited and touched that I would choose to give him a quilt, it brought tears to his eyes (and mine). I know that quilt will be loved and cared for over the years and it was worth every minute it took to create.

What’s your favorite back(ing) story? I’d love to hear it!