Genevieve is more of a planner than I. She makes lists in her mind and logically plans the steps required to achieve the outcome. Recently, she has been creating and sewing quilts as gifts for people she loves. Her current project is for a good friend, Yours Truly. 
It's a pink cat, wearing some intellectual looking black-rimmed spectacles. It is made from vintage style fabric and has a cream‑coloured background with funky lettering throughout. It should be a secret, I suppose, but it actually makes the gift far more meaningful to see the process behind it, to see the effort and the steps involved. It's quite moving to see the stitches made, and the scissors gliding expertly along the fabric, the steam of the iron rising on each of the pieces of the puzzle. And then there is the calmness, even as she runs out of thread yet again. 
I also get to be involved in important design decisions, such as the advice to avoid using sequins, because they remind me of calisthenics when I was eight years old. For Genevieve, making things actually helps her to pray. 'I adore making things for people, because I think they are one of the ultimate expressions of love, like a love language,' she said. 'My projects have sometimes taken me between three and eight months, and when you have that amount of time you can reflect on what that person means to you and what you hope for them for the future.' 'There are also almost no limits to what you can do with some patience. With each project I try and push myself a little bit and develop my skills.' Pressure and time frames sometimes come into the creation of one of Genevieve's masterpieces, but usually, the experience has more to do with a movement of the heart. 'First an idea is born, it slowly develops in my head. In the case of the current quilt, I was inspired by a pattern I saw online which I knew matched your …um… interests.' 'I'm not saying you are a crazy cat lady or anything, but I thought you would appreciate the sentiment,' she quips. 'The first quilt I made was for my cousin's wedding. It seemed like such a cool old-fashioned craft, which gave the right tone of love and permanency.' 'I like to think about the fabric, and look in different stores, often taking samples with me to see if they match.' As author Whitney Otto writes in the book How to make an American Quilt: 'You have to choose your combinations careful. The right choices will enhance your quilt. The wrong choices will dull the colours and hide their original beauty. There are no rules you can follow. You have to go by instinct and you have to be brave.' Genevieve goes on to explain the nitty-gritty of the quilt‑making process. 'The longest part is the following: the fabric is ironed and the pieces are sewn together (by hand or machine) and form the top layer.' 'This layer is put together with batting which can be made out of wool, cotton or polyblends and a backing fabric.' 'Then the three layers are sewn together, and this is the sewing process that is called quilting.' 'The quilt edges are then bound with a border fabric. I always add my mark to it as well, it's like a signature,' she said. Genevieve finds the art of making quilts a meditative process, which gives space for reflection, and for slowing down. 'Creating is an inherently spiritual process I think. You start with pieces and through your labour they become something else.' 'There is a great feeling of accomplishment at the end. There is also the wonderful feeling when you get to give your masterpiece to the intended and see them using and loving it as you have loved it, and them, for the period of making it.' 'It doesn't come close to the glory of God's creation but it is my small contribution.'
