It’s hard to believe there are only 3 more days left in 2013! As this year winds down and we prepare for 2014, many folks are preparing their new year’s resolutions–those things we plan (or hope!) to do in the new year. Today’s Q.S.O.S. Spotlight is shining on quilter Jan Wildman’s interview, conducted 13 years ago in Houston, Texas. Jan’s touchstone quilt was a “resolution quilt” featuring her wishes for the new year. Jan shared her resolutions and the background of the quilt with interviewer Jana Hawley:

“I’ve brought this quilt, because it’s kind of special to me, even though I don’t consider it my best quilt. It’s special to me, because I made this quilt instead of making New Year’s resolutions in 1995. I had decided that every year I was making the same resolutions and then breaking them by, probably the end of January. So I saw this flying pig’s fabric, and it reminded me of the expression ‘when pigs fly.’ So these are all things in my life that I figured would happen when pigs fly. So I have about nine different centers of blocks, that have different sayings of things that I would like to have happen in my life, but probably aren’t very likely... In the top block it says ‘Enjoy exercising.‘ The next one is ‘Keep the house clean’ and then the next one is ‘Finish more quilts.‘ And those are all kind of self-explanatory. Then in the next row I have ‘Lose weight‘ and above it in little letters it says ‘If only it were as easy to lose, as my mind.’ I guess that’s rather self explanatory. In the middle of the quilt there’s a block that says ‘Cherish the miracles,’ and it has sea turtles on it. There’s a story behind that that I can tell a little later. And then there is ‘Remember birthdays and anniversaries‘ which I am absolutely horrible about, still. And then on the bottom row there is ‘Use more fabric than I buy,‘ another when pigs fly pipe dream there. [chuckles.] ‘”Cook nutritious meals for my family,’ and then the final one is ‘Have more time to rest, relax, think and dream.‘ And of all of the nine, that’s the one that I’ve gotten closest to doing. [laughs.]

[…] I think one thing about doing this for me, when I made it, it was kind of nice to get rid of the guilt of making new year’s resolutions each year, and I’m pleased that I no longer do that, because I did always feel guilt over them and now, I kind of, when everybody else is saying they’re making them, I just kind of laugh about that. I think you can make resolutions any time during the year, you don’t have to wait till New Year’s, and maybe if you just make one at a time you have a better chance of accomplishing them, than making an entire list. I think that’s what it’s done for me.”

Check out Jan’s interview on the Q.S.O.S. page to read about the special sea turtle block she made as a reminder to cherish miracles in her interview on the Quilt Alliance site. You can always read more quilt stories on the Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories page, too!

Posted by Emma Parker
Project Manager,  Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories
qsos@quiltalliance.org