quilts
when and why we gift quilts
by Jess Bailey
public library quilts
Birth for the child/for the parent
Adoption
Foster child placement/challenges
IVF, fertility challenges
Miscarriage
Abortion
Hysterectomy
Kid’s first big bed
Grieving a child, a sibling
Grieving a parent, grandparent
Grieving someone you didn’t get to say goodbye to
Grieving chosen family, kin
First period
Bar/Bat mitzvah, & coming of age markers
Coming out
Important moments in a Trans person’s life
Birthdays in hard years
Moving out, moving away
Empty nest quilts
Platonic relationship anniversaries
Partnerships: marriage, queer love, forms of celebration & anniversaries
Separations, breakups
Divorce
Release from prison
Comfort for family of an incarcerated person
Graduation from any point of learning
Finishing a PhD
Quitting a PhD
Getting a degree not at the ‘correct’ time
Loss of a pet
Publishing a book
Career milestones, tenure
Starting a business
Unionizing
Religious solace
Immigration, displacement, refugee, asylum, citizenship
Comfort after any trauma, sexual assault healing
First garden, land stewardship
Sobriety milestones
Finishing a political campaign or community agitation
A dream role obtained
Mobility changes
Disability, Crip time markers
Cancer treatment, during chemo
Chronic Illness
Leaving a shit job
Leaving a path that defined your identity
Leaving a non-inclusive birth family
Leaving an abusive relationship
Setting boundaries with an abusive parent
Moving far away, long distance friendships
For Aunts & uncles
A community fundraiser, mutual aid
Recovering a mother tongue
Moving back home to be a caregiver
Suicide struggles, suicide loss
Therapy, asking for help
Something others don’t see as brave but is for you
Retirement
Menopause
Housewarming/new home/first home
housing stability / loosing housing stability
Someone who couldn’t afford the time or the materials to stay warm in this kind of comfort
Leaving home for a retirement home or care
Diagnosis
hospital stays
TBI
Hospice
In gratitude for community work
For me & its nobodies business
Burial
& QUILTS FOR THE ELDERS WHO MADE US QUILTS