Once again, Manny Dylan breaks all records for the best and most thoughtful Christmas gifts. In doing so, he also brought to my immediate attention the underrated beauty of handmade quilts.
I’ll be honest. I’m a duvet person. I haven’t had a traditional quilt in years and since shifting from a quilt to its fluffy counterpart, I never went back. Then I discovered the snuggy joy of queen-sized fleece blankets for twin-sized beds to become a full-fledged burrito. With the gifting of an absolute work of art, a Quilt by Jennifer (see link: https://www.quiltingbyjennifer.com/ ), I have been revitalized and spooned by the thermal cuddles of a quilt.
Quilting as a craft has long been a staple of traditionally-women’s hobbies, dating wayyyy farther back than Colonial America. It is a simple way to take scrap fabrics or specially-picked out fabrics (or both artfully patterned together) and create something new, unique, and cozy as all hell! Quilting also is a form of paying it forward in modern times, often with their patchwork practices resulting in charitable acts, honorary arts, and other homages to meaningful causes and organizations.
These incredibly handmade staples deserve a review and resurgence into the spotlight as the crafting trends continue to grow (both by necessity of today’s economy- in America and abroad- and by desire of more individuals to learn new practices). Now typically it would take about a single column for us at RRBlog to discuss origins and what makes the topic of our discussion so timeless, but the techniques associated with quilting are so ancient that historians can’t trace a single isolated incident where quilting began. From the earliest civilizations that prepared textiles for clothing, the use of fabrics sewn or formed together was often done out of necessity before it emerged as an art form.
Quilts as we know them today were used on beds as far back as 14th Century Italy, where they depicted scenes from myths and sometimes religious references. Their intention remains the same: stay covered and cozy. For a full history of quilts, we did manage to find this rather comprehensive reference from Emporia University: https://www.emporia.edu/cgps/tales/quilte~1.html
So let’s fast forward to Christmas 2018. Manny Dylan strikes a perfect pastiche of Harpie’s favorite things- one being at the forefront of our minds in wintertime- including my blanket burrito-ing habits to stay warm. (Author’s Note: Harpie Lyn is always cold in winter.)
The significance of preparing a quilt as a gift is also rather timeless because of the aforementioned value of the handmade, the thoughtful, the sentimental, and the elaborate methodologies used to build a quilt that is uniquely representative of the recipient. Now, I’ve been blessed for 6 years to be the nerdy bestie of this strapping young sir, and I can attest that he’s outdone himself with this particular gift, especially as the Northeastern Corridor gets slammed with ice and snow this week.
Quilting by Jennifer, I want to extend my gratitude to you for the upkeep of a melleniae-long tradition of art and craft as well as for the loveliest, most custom-made gift I’ve ever received. We guarantee that your quilts will stand the test of time and surely, like quilts from our ancestors, this one is sure to make excellent conversations as the years go by.
Stay curious & warm!
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