Tammi Quilt Collection

I can’t handle being told that I can’t do something. I get a steely look in my eye and I’m like ‘watch me’. The problem is that while we like to think we can do anything (especially me), that simply isn’t true. There are some things that we just can’t do. I have very severe asthma. It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that there are some things I just can’t do. Like visit botanical gardens.

About three years ago, when my husband and I lived in Atlanta, we visited Atlanta’s botanical gardens. I had never been before and I was so excited when we went. Part of the botanical gardens is a big green house filled with flowers. After walking through the green house, I could feel my asthma acting up. I took my inhaler and carried on. I promised my self I would leave before it got too bad, I lied. I let it get really bad, my husband was the one who ended up insisting that we exit the building and sat with me on a bench for about half an hour while I basically tried not to die.

He was very upset. He basically asked if I was really going to almost die because of some orchids. I love flowers, but not that much. Botanical gardens have now been banned from my life.

It was a hard day for me because I realized that sometimes there are things that you really can’t do. It doesn’t matter how hard you study, or practice, or work for it, you just can’t do them.

Fast forward to a couple months ago when my nana, my mom, and I were having our biweekly Friday night sit and sew at my apartment. I was talking about one of my latest EPP projects and my mom said “I wish I could EPP, but my arthritis. My hands would just hurt too bad.”

This was basically my mom’s botanical garden and I HATED it. She used to love cross stitching and she can’t do that anymore, and now she couldn’t do this either.

I can’t go to botanical gardens? Fine, but no one gets to tell my mom she can’t do something. I love my mom. My mom is the best woman I know. She is my hero, and she can do anything.

I got to thinking. Surely there was a way around this? The reason she couldn’t do EPP was because she couldn’t do hand work, but was handwork really necessary for EPP? Could I figure out a way to machine piece EPP? Surely yes. This sounded like something that some good old fashioned critical thinking, drawing, and math could conquer.

The next week was filled with a mess of creative energy. Four big quilt pattern ideas were spawned. All were machine pieced quilts that were inspired by EPP.

The one that called the loudest to me was the Arwen Quilt. It is the first in the Tammi Quilt Collection. A series that I named after my mom, the inspiration. The Arwen Quilt pattern released October 17, 2020 and can be found here.

I love you mom. You can do anything.

The first pattern in the Tammi Quilt Collection – the Arwen Quilt.

The second quilt pattern in the Tammi Quilt Collection – the Gondor Quilt.