Aunt Jenn

I started selling quilts in 2013. One of my first customers was my cousin Jennifer. She asked me to make a t-shirt quilt for her husband. It was a big quilt and had t-shirts on both sides. Considering it was one of the first quilts I made for someone else, I was so grateful for her trust in my abilities!

Soon after that, she started contacting me for baby quilts. I’ve made a total of 10 baby rag quilts for her! I think one or two were for friends – the rest for her nieces and nephews! She has a couple older nieces that were born prior to me making quilts, but otherwise the remaining 8 all have Quilting Moonbeam originals.

There’s so much I love about making these quilts.

As an aunt myself, I know how much Jenn loves her nieces and nephews. I love how she wants to give them each their own quilt, even though she probably didn’t know what kind of trend she was starting just 4 years ago! (I’m in the same boat with ours!)
That side of my family is not very close. I remember family reunions in the summer when we were younger and holidays together in the winter. However, beyond that I didn’t see my cousins very much. Due to various family conflicts, as we got older, I saw them even less. I don’t really know my cousins, which means I don’t know their children either. However, each one of those children has a quilt made by me – a quilt full of gratitude and wonder and love for their lives. Even if I never meet them, I feel like I’m part of their lives in some way.
I’m honored that Jenn chooses to reach out to me each time another pregnancy is announced. Most recently she asked for a quilt because one of her brother’s and his wife have a foster child. All children in the Moman family are loved and welcomed, no matter what the circumstances. Jenn could choose to spend her money in other ways, but time after time she comes back to me and I’m truly grateful.
Because of this connection through quilts, I have been in communication with her more often. We don’t have deep conversations, but we are in touch and that means a lot to me. Earlier this summer I was able to make a t-shirt quilt for her daughter and I enjoyed the few moments we had together standing in my living room admiring the quilt and talking about life for a bit.

I was looking through my quilt photo albums trying to figure out which ones Jenn bought. I could have figured it out – my sales sheets compared with the dates on the photos…that seemed like a bit more time than it was worth! So, I went through a few family members’ photo albums on Facebook and got some pictures to share. Pictures of babies I’ve never met, but, because of their Aunt Jenn and her enormous love for them, I get to be part of the story too.