About

Every quilt, they say, tells a story, so I’d like to share a few of my quilts’ stories.

I was born and raised in India — the land of hot spices and brilliant colors, and most of the quilts I create draw from the energy and vibrant shades I grew up seeing around me every day, whether it was in a peaceful rural scene or in the bustle and press of a noisy crowded Indian city.

I sewed my first patchwork together when I was nine, squares cut from fabric my grandmother had in her home. I sewed the squares together on her pedal-operated Singer sewing machine and when I was done, my grandmother and my aunt exclaimed, “There! You’ve done your first patchwork!”

Fifteen years later, my mother helped me make my first quilt — a little one for my first baby. Like her, I fell in love with patchwork. But it was my grandmothers and great-grandmothers who started us on our personal quilting journey. Indeed, a family heirloom I am privileged to now have in my home is a pink and white Barn Door quilt made by my great-great-grandmother, which might very well date from the late 1800’s and still in almost pristine condition. So the love of patchwork and quilting is definitely in my blood.

Years ago, I read in a book a quote from a pioneer woman about why the women quilted. I’ve looked for that quote over and over again and have never found it again. This is what I remember:  “Yes, of course we made our quilts to keep our families warm, but more than that, we made the quilts to keep our hearts from breaking.” That phrase seared itself into my memory and heart.

For someone with a long history of depression, quilting (working with my hands, playing with colors, feeling the fabrics bend and mold to my will) has been one consistent activity that helps to keep the “black dogs” from my door.