Like my unique Wedding and Memory Quilts, my original Quotation Quilts are a truly unique and personalized way for an individual or a group of people to honor someone. The recipient might be a person leaving a group or organization (e.g., moving away or retiring), a person being thanked for important contributions (e.g., a beloved teacher at year's end), a person healing from an illness or accident who needs inspiration, a person celebrating an important life event such as a becoming a grandparent or reaching a certain birthday, or someone who deserves recognition for professional or personal accomplishments (e.g., running a marathon, earning a degree).
My first Quotation Quilts were made for clients "graduating" from my therapy groups. I secretly collected quotations from other group members that they thought fit the departing individual, printed them onto fabric, sewed them into quilts, and presented the quilt on the last session for the person who was leaving us. It made a heartfelt farewell gift and was a wonderful way for a departing individual to hold on to people who had been meaningful. Inspired by how much these quilts meant to my clients, I began making Quotation Quilts for colleagues who were retiring, doctoral students who were graduating, and in other situations where someone I cared about merited this highly personalized keepsake.
A Quotation Quilt can consist of just one quotation, or it can be made up of quotations contributed by many people. Single quotations make terrific small wall quilts (although I also have put rather long poems on quilts), and quilts with quotations contributed by a group are large enough to be lap quilts or substantial wall quilts. The types of quotations can be specified (e.g., quotations by women, quotations about grandfathers, quotations about birds) and they are printed with the attribution (i.e., the source of the quote), but they always are chosen to "fit" the recipient in some way. These quilts usually are a surprise for the recipient, and quilts involving a group require some advance planning, as quotations have to be collected from everyone who is participating. Each quilt is accompanied by a printed "Key" that indicates the participant who contributed each quotation.
Proceeds from Quotation Quilts support causes that are specific to the quilt theme and recipient. For example, quilts that have quotations by famous women would support such organizations as the well-known Emily's List (www.emilyslist.org), or the Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology in Washington, DC (www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/leadership) , a leadership development program for women. A retirement quilt for a firefighter might feature quotations about bravery and serving others, and funds would support the recipient's local fire department. The possibilities are endless, and I invite you to consider how you might honor a deserving individual with this kind of original keepsake.
Enjoy viewing my Quotation Quilts!
My first Quotation Quilts were made for clients "graduating" from my therapy groups. I secretly collected quotations from other group members that they thought fit the departing individual, printed them onto fabric, sewed them into quilts, and presented the quilt on the last session for the person who was leaving us. It made a heartfelt farewell gift and was a wonderful way for a departing individual to hold on to people who had been meaningful. Inspired by how much these quilts meant to my clients, I began making Quotation Quilts for colleagues who were retiring, doctoral students who were graduating, and in other situations where someone I cared about merited this highly personalized keepsake.
A Quotation Quilt can consist of just one quotation, or it can be made up of quotations contributed by many people. Single quotations make terrific small wall quilts (although I also have put rather long poems on quilts), and quilts with quotations contributed by a group are large enough to be lap quilts or substantial wall quilts. The types of quotations can be specified (e.g., quotations by women, quotations about grandfathers, quotations about birds) and they are printed with the attribution (i.e., the source of the quote), but they always are chosen to "fit" the recipient in some way. These quilts usually are a surprise for the recipient, and quilts involving a group require some advance planning, as quotations have to be collected from everyone who is participating. Each quilt is accompanied by a printed "Key" that indicates the participant who contributed each quotation.
Proceeds from Quotation Quilts support causes that are specific to the quilt theme and recipient. For example, quilts that have quotations by famous women would support such organizations as the well-known Emily's List (www.emilyslist.org), or the Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology in Washington, DC (www.apa.org/pi/women/programs/leadership) , a leadership development program for women. A retirement quilt for a firefighter might feature quotations about bravery and serving others, and funds would support the recipient's local fire department. The possibilities are endless, and I invite you to consider how you might honor a deserving individual with this kind of original keepsake.
Enjoy viewing my Quotation Quilts!
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These quilts, made more than a decade ago, were my first two Quotation Quilts, made for departing members of a therapy group. The two quilts are very different (one made of yellow and purple floral prints and the other of rich batiks), created to fit each of the recipients. They were designed as lap quilts (about 48 x 60) but also could be used as wall quilts. 
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This small wall quilt was made for a colleague to celebrate her move to a new position. It is made of gorgeous African fabrics and features one of my favorite quotations by Audre Lorde. I made a similar quilt made for one of my doctoral students, with the center panel lightly tea-stained. The quilts both measure about 18 X 20.
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This quilt was created for a colleague who was retiring from my university department. I secretly collected quotations from all of the faculty and staff in the department and made this quilt out of Australian fabrics that my friend had brought back to me from a visit there shortly before her retirement. It was made large enough to be a lap quilt (44 X 60), but my friend uses it as a wall quilt.
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This wall quilt was made as a gift for friends of mine -- together for many decades -- who finally were able to marry after the Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage. It is about 20 x 24 and is made of batiks and white-on-white fabrics, with my favorite quotation from Sappho. |
This quilt was made for a colleague, the President of a university in
which I worked. He was leaving to assume another position, and each department collaborated to contribute a fitting quotation for the quilt (some quotations were things he often said!). The fabrics are beautiful imported indigo fabrics in the the university colors, and the center contains the university logo, framed in silver. It is a wall quilt (about 44 X 60) and it is hanging in my colleague's new office.
This quilt was made in honor of a psychologist colleague who provided important leadership within our professional association. Colleagues sent me favorite quotations about leadership and strong women, and I incorporated them, framed in blue, into a quilt of soft blues and greens with a blue print backing. The honoree enjoyed viewing the quilt for a time, and it was then auctioned off as a fund-raiser for the organization. It measures 46 X 64, and was made as a wall quilt.
This small wall quilt, which features one of my favorite quotations by Eleanor Roosevelt, was made as a thank-you gift for a colleague. It measures 18 X 18.
These small wall quilts also are early Quotation Quilts, made for graduate students on my research team when I was a professor. Each quotation and style was chosen to fit the recipient, and several of them are shown individually below.
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