When you are raising a family and working, often the only time left for quilting is spent on simply admiration. It isn’t until children are gone and retirement is looming that many of our guests finally have the time to stop admiring and start making quilts of their own.
[caption id="attachment_3192" align="aligncenter" width="629"]
Photo by Gregory Case Photography[/caption]
After Yvonne Foster’s husband passed away and her seven children (6 daughters and one son) were on their own, Yvonne knew she needed something to do. Her pastor and her pastor’s daughter invited Yvonne to take a summer quilting class with them. Yvonne wasn’t interested at first, but the more she learned, the more she liked to quilt. The hardest part for Yvonne was getting started. She had always liked to sew clothes for her daughters, but clothing had patterns to follow. Cutting out fabric and putting it together without laid out instructions was hard for Yvonne. But the more she quilted, the more comfortable she became. It’s been 13 years since Yvonne first started quilting. And now, she is sharing her hobby with her daughter, Yvette.
Yvette liked seeing her mother’s finished projects, and thought quilting would be something she would enjoy doing — when she had the time. In 2007, that free time finally came up. After finishing Real Estate classes and getting her Real Estate license, Yvette had Thursday nights open. She decided to use those free evenings and take a quilting class. Guess what? Yvette has been quilting ever since!!
Yvette was the one to introduce her mother to Road. They have been coming for the past five years. Yvette feels she learns something each time she attends and especially likes seeing the judged quilts. “They are unbelieveable.” For Yvonne, she likes talking to the winners and asking them questions about their designs.
Lois Baumgartner of Fountain Valley still has the double-wedding ring quilt that her mother made in the 1940’s. Lois always liked to sew, but it wasn’t until 10 years ago when her children had all left home, that she found the time to start quilting herself. Lois was at a fabric store one day and struck up a conversation with another woman in the store. That lady ended up inviting Lois to attend her quilt guild, the Flying Geese Guild in Irvine, California. Lois says she “quilts at her own pace,” and that her favorite place to get new ideas is going to Road to California.
What held you back from starting to quilt? What are you waiting for to start?
]]>Tags: Empty Nest Hobby, Midlife, Quilting
