National Quilting Month

National Quilting Day was started in 1991 and is said to be the celebration of both the quilts and the art of quilting itself. 

 A quilt is a type of bed cover, traditionally composed of 3 layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding and a woven back, combined using the technique of quilting. A quilt is distinguishable from other types of blankets because it is pieced together with several pieces of cloth. “Quilting” refers to the technique of joining at least two fabric layers by stitches or ties.

Did you know that quilting can trace its origins to China as early as 3000 B.C.?

A Brief History of National Quilting Day
(http://eliqg.com/eliqg-national-quilting-day

In 1989, the Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society organized a “Quilters’ Day Out” on the third Saturday of March to celebrate the rich tradition of quiltmaking in Kentucky. In 1991, the NQA officers were so enthused with the concept and success of “Quilters’Day Out” that they voted to take it to a national level.

The first National Quilting Day was observed in 1992 and since then it has grown into a global celebration for all quiltmakers and quilt lovers. Helen Storbeck, one of the founders of National Quilting Day, wrote in The Quilting Quarterly, “Groups of quilters were encouraged to hold special events, publishers and shop owners were invited to sponsor promotions especially for quilters and it quickly became a grassroots endeavor with quilters in every part of the country participating.  In the first year of National Quilting Day, quilters in other countries asked to participate. They were welcomed with open arms. As our feelings of a community network has evolved to include a world community, it is only appropriate that quilters and quilt lovers everywhere united to give recognition to the special art form.”

In 2015, National Quilting Day is Saturday, March 21.

However, in the quilting community, the entire month of March is commonly celebrated as National Quilting Month. 

What better way to honor National Quilting Month than by gathering up the girls, pulling out an easy pattern, using up your scraps, and share your love of all that is quilting skills with others.

• Teach a kid to use a sewing machine.
• Share one of your favorite FREE patterns on social media (do not violate any copyrights and make sure you give credit to the designer when sharing).
• Surprise a quilty friend with a bag of scraps or a fat quarter.
• Start that quilt you have been wanting to do for so long.
• Donate a lap quilt to a nursing home or care facility.
• Donate a baby quilt to a women's center.

“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
― Albert Pike

There are lots of places to find free quilt patterns.   I find patterns here and there, both in print and online, but I will limit my post to include my 'go-to' sites where I consistently find a pattern I want to make... maybe scrappy...  maybe not:   Jenny Doan's Missouri Star Quilt Company and Bonnie Hunter's Quiltville. 

Quilts can be easy or complicated....  appliqued or pieced...  quick to put together or take years, or even generations, to finish.  They can be themed, or scrappy...  machine sewed or hand sewed...  muted or loud...  large or small...  whatever they are, they are a piece of us and they take us with them, wherever they go.

Celebrate Quilting...  
Celebrate What Makes You Happy...
Celebrate Yourself.... 
Celebrate Your Blessings....