Why Quilt?

Guest writer Zina here. I just returned from a long weekend up in northern Wisconsin; to my surprise there was no internet access. Thank you for your patience with my delayed postings. Read on! ........................................................................... Did you pull out your first and last quilt and compare them last week? When I looked at my blankets below I suddenly realized what I enjoy most about quilting, the puzzle. It all began with a community material bin. My first quilting class required each student to purchase 20 fat quarters and slice the material into strips. Half the material was put into a community bin for sharing. I fell in love with the different patterns, textures and colors people had selected. The result of the chaos is below:
To me quilting is the equivalent of doing an art puzzle: How does one create visual balance? Which partner material makes a certain pattern pop? How many different ways can you recreate a log cabin square with different effects? A decade later I am still fascinated by these questions. My last project was a baby gift for a friend and fellow graphic designer who is in a metal rock band. My brain started working the puzzle: How do I design something if I don’t know the gender of the child? How do I make it retro to keep it in line with his taste? What type of material will work best? You can see the results to these questions below: Over the years Tiffany and I have formed an unusual friendship based on the agreement to disagree. Our quilting patterns and preferences are another example of this unique relationship. She loves the structure of a pattern; I find happiness in sewing giant uneven log cabin squares. Her material choices are very floral and lighthearted; my material is crazy and colorful. She quilts in quite solitude while I listen to music, l-o-u-d. Yet somehow we are utterly inspired by one another's work. What aspects of quilting do you enjoy most? Do you love the feel of the material, the math, the pattern, the therapeutic solitude? Why do you quilt? Please share. We would both love to hear your story.