Heartfelt: more than a heart made of felt
The word “heartfelt” has two definitions, says my friend Merriam Webster: 'deeply felt' and 'very sincere.' Handmade gifts, according to me, make use of both definitions with the giver using the latter, the receiver, the former. Follow me below the orange ribbon to see some gifts that touched my heart and were deeply felt.
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You know those gifts that you've received over the years, the ones you get on the holidays that make you force a smile and say something like "Um, thanks. How...thoughtful,” or that you get from your mother on your birthday that leave you wondering if she really, after all these years, knows you at all? I have received many of these, and while some were sincerely given, others were just a product of obligation, often purchased at the last minute under the pressure to give.
Then there are the gifts that touch you deeply and go straight to your heart, as the quilts I'm going to share with you did. When I unwrapped these, I hugged them to me and said, "Oh," and then held them up to see them better and said, "Oh," because that's how my surprise at the effort behind the gifts came out, and well...you know...sniff.
The first quilt I ever received came from a long-time, childhood friend when my daughter (my first baby) was born. I was overwhelmed and the gift undid me (confused and unsettled hormones didn’t help). It’s a simple crib quilt that she top-stitched by hand. My daughter spent a lot of time wrapped in or playing on this one. The gift was for both of us—she gets to keep it:
The second homemade quilt—a wall hanging—came from my 80-year-old great aunt, whom I hardly knew, when my son was born. Also simple and an old, old pattern:
I’m always drawn to the details on the quilt—the embroidered hat-bands and suspenders, the bit of cord for the balloon, and the top stitching that surrounds the appliqued pieces of the little boys. I like the mix of fabrics, too. Their shirts and the sashing are cotton gingham, and their pants and the background, a soft flannel.
My great-aunt also made me several simple blankets—mostly big flannel squares sewn together and top stitched with a machine. I have passed most of those on, but kept this little quilt with the embroidered animals. I’m showing just a small section because it has a few stains that I haven’t been able to get out, but I can’t bare to let it go:
Finally, three or four years ago, when the baby girl who was the recipient of the first quilt pictured was older, she hid away in her room frequently over the holidays and created this wall hanging for me—pieced together, appliqued, embroidered, and beaded, it’s one of my most precious possessions. There's a karmic quality to her giving:
I've also made and gifted several heartfelt quilts. You can see a few of them in an earlier DK Quilt Guild diary I wrote
here. I wish I had taken pictures of some of the others.
Speaking of heartfelt gifts, this seems like an appropriate place to mention SaraR, Winglion and the DK Community Quilt Project. Follow Community Quilt Project to become a part of and stay up-to-date with the latest projects for members of the Daily Kos who benefit from the warm, healing hugs of the quilts created though the community here coming together to make them happen and the loving work that SaraR and Winglion put into them.
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