How Do You Do It?
I’m an active member in a few quilt-related Facebook groups, and lately, I’ve noticed a variation of the same question pop up:
“How do you just give away the quilts you’ve made?”
I paraphrased to simplify the question.
Of course there are a huge number of reasons why group members are asking this question. A few examples:
Some of the folks asking are feeling overwhelmed by the number of quilts they have piling up, but they can’t make the decision to give their quilts to people, let alone choose which quilts to give and to whom. Others feel guilty hanging onto the quilts they’ve made, after all there are only so many that they can use – and again, the thought of taking the plunge causes anxiety. Still more gave one as a gift after putting a lot of love and care into it, only to find that the gift wasn’t valued the way they hoped so they’re nervous about gifting again.
That's a Lot of Quilts
How many pieces of paper do you think are in the stock photo I posted?
For me, it’s uncountable, so I’ll just keep it easy and say “A LOT”. That’s a rough estimate of the number of quilts that I’ve made since I learned how to quilt 20+ years ago.
True story: one of my coworkers asked if I knew how many quilts I’ve made in the past 20+ years. I tried counting from memory, because I don’t keep a record. I literally couldn’t remember them all.
I tried to write them down so that I wouldn’t get confused and double count any of them. I remembered who I gave some of them to, but I couldn’t remember what the individual quilt looked like.
I tried to remember which specific quilts I’d kept for myself, but only remembered about half because those were the ones I used regularly.
I even had to go into my office to count the quilts that I made to use in our meetings, because I couldn’t remember them.
I can only remember 32 of the quilts that I made in 2021, and I’m sure I made more than that. So I’m not joking when I say I make a lot of quilts. I think I kept 3 of them for myself (I’m not getting up to double check), so a rough estimate is 90% of the quilts I made last year were given away or donated.
What Are You Valuing?
Generally speaking, mass produced items that you’d buy in a store are affordable. Their monetary value is lower because the supply is so high. That’s basically economics. With a quilt, which is hand made, often bespoke, and made by a skilled artisan (which all Average Quilters are, BTW), the value may be different.
So, let’s stop and think for a minute about where we, as Average Quilters, are placing the value in our quilts. There is definitely the monetary component – our high quality fabrics and supplies are pricey, and the electricity to run our sewing machines isn’t cheap, so there may be a feeling of scarcity when you think about them. Time is a factor, too. After all, we are all busy with our jobs, families, household maintenance, fitness, errands, etc. The time we are able to set aside to pursue a hobby is scarce and therefore higher value. We can’t forget the emotions that quilting brings out for us. Learning and solidifying skills is tough, those inevitable dates with Jack (the seam ripper) can take an emotional toll as well. The excitement and pride we feel from finishing a quilt and knowing that it looks really good can’t be beat.
All of those things put together can really increase the value of the quilt for most of us Average Quilters. You might look at your quilts and feel the time, money and emotions that went into its creation in your heart. It drastically increases the value of those quilts as compared to the meals that you make every night for dinner. That’s 100% OK, and there’s a cost to it as well.
A Hoard by Any Other Name...
You’re all familiar with the idea of a dragon’s hoard, right? Well, I couldn’t find an open source dragon with a hoard, so you’ll just have to enjoy this clip art I found instead. Say hello to the dragon.
Dragons have a hoard, usually made up of precious metals, jewels and other similar items. Dragons start collecting these items when they’re a few years old. By the time they’re old enough to be called Ancient, they’ve amassed quite a hoard. So, the bigger the hoard, the older the dragon.
Average Quilters are kind of like dragons, too. The longer they’ve quilted, the larger their fabric stash (a subject for another post), and the larger their finished quilt hoard. But what is it costing you to keep those quilts?
Breaking Down the Costs
Physical Space
All of these quilts need to be stored when they’re not in use. And let’s face it, the chances of you using all of those quilts all at the same time are very slim. No matter how many quilts you squish into a vacuum sealer bag, you still have to store them. That space you’re devoting to those quilts you’re storing could be used for a bunch of other things, including making more quilts.
Mental Space
Unless you’re keeping a written inventory of the quilts you’re storing, you probably have to remember which ones you have and where they’re kept. Don’t you have more important things to remember? I know I do.
Emotional Space
When you look at that pile of quilts, how does it make you feel? Do you feel excited? Happy? Anxious? Claustrophobic? Guilty? Those quilts are taking up emotional space whether you’re aware of it or not.
What about when you think about the future? I see a lot of questions about what to do with all those quilts that you’ve made when you’ve passed away. Is that something you really want to worry about as you age?
Are these costs worth holding on to your quilty hoard? Probably not, but that’s a decision you have to make.
My Take on My Hoard
Like I wrote earlier: I make a lot of quilts. I make so many, I can’t remember them all, let alone use them all in my lifetime. I love making the quilts. Once they’re made, I’m happy to send them off to their new home, most of the time. If I kept them all, I literally wouldn’t have enough space to make quilts in. And since the value for me is in the creation, I’d rather support that than hang onto a hoard that will literally sit there unused, taking up physical, mental and emotional space, and keep me from what I’d really like to be doing. So that makes it easy for me to give 90% (or more) of my quilts away, including to people who may use them as dog beds, re-gift them, donate them to a thrift store, or store it away because it’s “too special” to use.
I hope you’ll think about some of these things as you review your own quilt hoard. If you decide to keep hanging onto it all, that’s cool. Just be sure that your hoard continues to serve you and doesn’t burden you with its existence.