Quilters on Instagram have been sharing their work and quilting lives as a part of #IGquiltfest2021; one of the questions they answered recently was “Why do I quilt?”

While I admit that I have participated only sporadically in the quilt fest myself, I have been following others with interest, and I spent some time with the “why I quilt” question: why DO I quilt?

I quilt because I love the tactile quality of fabric–yes, I’m a fabric fondler–and the textures, both visual and “touchy-feely” of my chosen medium.

I quilt because it has calmed me when I have been stressed or sad or grieving.

I quilt because it allows me to be wildly creative if I want to be, or to just put pedal to the metal and just sew, sew, sew when my creativity has taken a vacation in faraway…wherever.

I quilt because I love other quilters and sharing our art and craft with each other, in person or online. We are a caring, sharing, fun clan. We make really good treats to share, too.

I quilt because there is a finished product. (Let’s not talk about all my WIPs, okay?) I worked in a job that seldom resulted in a tangible finish point for me, though hopefully it did for clients, eventually! Quilting was a way to feel productive, and to have a wonderful, cozy, warm and love-filled piece in the end. I’m generally a destination rather than a journey person.

And therein lies a problem I’ve had lately, and I’ve only just realized it: I’ve started making my quilting about the destination rather than the journey, and that isn’t acceptable. I am working on getting back to loving the look, feel, and joy of quilting–no matter when a piece is finished (if ever) or whether it looks as I originally envisioned it. I don’t want to lose the sheer creative joy of cutting and piecing all that fabric into a new expression of my creative vibe at any given time.

The truth is, I’m a quilt hugger from way back, and I want to get back to embracing the whole, textural, nuanced art of making a quilt.

Let’s never lose the deep, ingrained joy of it. Because, in the end, my answer to “why I quilt” is really “How could I NOT quilt?”