Sooner or later somebody says it, usually kindly, usually while watching you square up your fortieth block: you know, you could just buy a blanket. Every quilter has a reply ready, even if she only says it in her head. Resting Stitch Face Handmades is a whole collection of those replies, drawn in color and thread for the people who make things by hand because the making is the point.
Because the making is the best part
A store blanket never came with a sunrise. Breezy Quilting sets a vintage machine sailing on curling blue waves under a blazing golden sun, every swirl outlined like hand quilting. Seeds of Stitches grows sunflowers straight up around an old machine, petals spilling onto the fabric in its throat. Exploding Patches sends one lonely spool into a joyful burst of colored squares, the exact feeling of opening a new bundle. Zen Kitty Quilter keeps things peaceful, with a cat curled beside the machine under a swirling starlit sky.
Because we run on coffee and good company
Nothing handmade was ever finished on an empty cup. All I Need Is Coffee & Fabric balances a mug on a neat pile of folded prints, and another design pours a pastel striped cup with steam curling into a heart above the words Quilts & Caffeine. The company arrives on four paws: the I Like Quilting and My Dog designs let a golden retriever or a German shepherd sit proudly under a little vintage machine, which is exactly where they sit in real life, usually on the fabric.
Because it is a real job, thank you
Some replies are more direct. I'm Not Retired, Quilting Is Hard Work lines up a machine, spools, scissors and quilt blocks like a résumé of tools. In My Quilt Lady Era announces a whole new chapter in chunky patchwork letters. F-CAW-F, I'm Quilting lets a stern black crow answer any interruption while he pieces a checkered quilt, and a portrait of an artist in a crown of roses, patchwork quilt pooled across her lap, says it with one calm look.
For the quilter who makes it herself
These are for the quilter who has hand-stitched a binding during a football game, the friend who gives quilts to every new baby in the family and the one who could buy a blanket anytime and never will. You know whose house has a quilt on every bed and a basket of works in progress by the chair. Hand her the reply she likes best. Then watch her smile politely the next time someone mentions the store, and go back to her binding.
Written by Judy. Thanks for reading.
