As a child I remember many hand made quilts in our home, all made by my grandmother, Roselma Jacques Demers. These quilts had many uses in our home of six children; bed quilts, tents to play under, beach blankets, tarps for the ground while my father worked on the car. More uses than you can imagine. I didn't think much about these quilts at the time. I didn't know my grandmother very well, as she died when I was around 7 years old.
All of her quilts were hand pieced and hand quilted. My mother washed and reused these quilts until they fell to pieces. I didn't realize it at the time, but I'm sure all of this made an impression on me as a child. It was hard to tear me away from the sewing machine after my mother taught me how to sew at the age of 12. After my college graduation my mother and I thought we would try to figure out how to make quilts. By now most of my grandmother's quilts were very well used or trashed.
Today I love to make quilts with meaning and purpose, and for people to treasure for years to come. For me, it is an expression of warmth and love. It is also a form of wearable art, which can be enjoyed in many ways; baby quilts, dorm quilts, wedding, birthday, anniversaries, and many more occasions. It gave me much pleasure to see my nephew wrap himself up with his new graduation quilt for his future dorm room.
To date, I have made over 210 quilts, and plan to make many quilts in the years ahead. Just like grandmother did.
