Artist in Farwell holding reminiscences alive by way of quilts

FARWELL, Texas (KFDA) – Ruben on the Road heads to Farwell the place he visits an area artist holding reminiscences alive by way of quilts.

Rhonda Stevens, a quilt artist at Story Quilts, began making quilts as a default.

“I originally started out as a garment sewist and making garments all the time. And I made garments for me, my kids,” stated Stevens.

She says on this planet of material, that trade has gone abroad and so there was no extra garment cloth you may purchase.

“And I still, I missed the sewing,” stated Stevens. “So if you wanted to sew, you kind of had to go into quilts because that’s where everything was going at the time.”

Stevens acquired into the applique. She began making photos, stitching them down and having the quilt inform the story that manner.

In the final 10 years or so, Stevens had the concept of upcycling shirts.

“Because people are saving those t-shirts, the t-shirts themselves will tell the story. I started figuring out a way to put those into a quilt,” said Stevens.

She started with her family members.

“You know, I had this big old box full of my kids t-shirts and I thought, well let’s just go to town with it. And so that’s kind of where it started,” stated Stevens.

Stevens says when she started making them for other people, it’s been amazing to see their reaction whey they get that quilt.

“They just go, ‘Oh my gosh. I had no idea. You know, this reminds me of this. And that reminds me of that. And oh, I remember when we went there and did this other thing.’ And yeah, that means a lot,” said Stevens.

Stevens says she doesn’t really have what she makes because it goes out. She has very few quilts of hers.

“Once I started doing this, I don’t go back to the, you know, put the squares together and make a big thing,” said Stevens.

She says that most of what she does, belongs to someone else.

“And that is fine with me. That’s also kind of what got me into it. You know, there’s only so many places you can put a quilt. And the closet’s full, you know. But once I started putting them together for other people and seeing their reaction and yeah, it’s fun. It’s really fun,” said Stevens.

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