The Art of Longarm Quilting.

Longarm quilting is an art form in its own right.  Many can make a quilt top and quilt it by machine. Then we get a few people who look at a quilt top and see what it can be. They visualise something so amazing and see an art work, while we see in the ditch, maybe a stipple, feather or an echo outline. The machines they use, do not come cheaply, the work and the hours they put in is part of the services they offer, the art they include is what sets each and everyone apart.

One can have many quilts finished with an all over design and that is not what one is talking about here. Custom quilting is the art form we are talking about here. We all admire the sheer force and scale of the artistry of their work, when we stand back and look at the whole quilt. Many times we look at the front we do no fully appreciate the scale of work involved, until we look at the back of the quilt.  Then it dawns how much work went into creating a unique piece of art. This is what makes an heirloom quilt.  For one to love and hug. Over time it will be showing how much it means to us, as we cuddle under it. Will it show the wear of time, of course it will. It is not meant to be mounted behind a piece of glass to be admired from a far, except up close as a tactile art.

Is it perfect? Nope. It was never intended to be.  Did I make mistakes when it was pieced, absolutely.  This was never to be entered into a quilt show, it is for us to enjoy.  This was part of the healing process,  after my Dad passed away. I knew if I had to quilt it, it would have stayed a quilt top. So in December of last year,  I wrote to a longarm quilter and sent her pictures of the front and back, with full disclosure of the complex nature of this top. After looking at the photos, she quoted a price and said that she would quilt it for me. It was sent off in January and she said she does not want to work to deadlines.  I was happy with this, as it is so much better when one can do what one love at one's own pace. Life is short and one need time to spend a while with the ones we love, creating memories. When she let me know she's was working on it over the summer, it was important to me that she took time to enjoy those special moments with her family, it is just an object. People are far more precious than things. Yes it took longer, it could even have taken longer and it would not have mattered. The world and it's people are in very short supply of patience and respect for one another, it is important to value people above all the stuff and things in world.You can replace things, not loved one's!