Have you given some thought to what happens to all those beautiful quilts you’ve created over the years? What about all those tools, patterns, books, and yes, what about all those fabrics in your stash? A Quilter’s Letter of Instructions may be just what you need to document your wishes.
I created this guide – The Quilter’s Letter of Instructions to help me make my wishes clear to my family when the time comes that they need to make some of these decisions.
Why would I be sharing this with you now, at the beginning of this new year? Because right now, I’m cleaning my sewing room and office in preparation for jumping into a new year with both feet. I’m organizing records in preparation for taxes and making plans for the next few months. It feels like the right time to get things in order. It’s a great time to write (or update) this letter while I’ve just looked at everything in my sewing space.
I think it’s important to break the process of documenting your wishes into bite-sized chunks. Let’s take a look at the questions that can help you make those decisions.
- Do you want to designate one (or more) person to carry out your instructions? Who are they – and are they willing to take on this task?
- Do you have specific items you would like someone specific to have?
- Do you prefer that your items be sold or donated – or a combination of the two?
- Machines and Tools: Do you have specific machines or tools that you want to leave to a particular person? List them by item and person(s) name(s).
- Finished Projects and Quilts: Do you have quilts or other finished projects that you want someone to have? List them by item and person(s) name(s).
- Unfinished Projects: Do you have a preference for what should happen with your unfinished projects? Make note of what you would like to happen to your unfinished projects (gift, donate, etc.).
- Fabric Collection: Do you want any part of your collection to be given to someone in particular – list them and describe what you want them to have. Make note of where you want the remaining fabric collection to go.
- Patterns and Books: Do you want any of these items to go to specific people? If so, make a list of those items and to whom you want them to go.
- Thread and other Notions: Do you have a large collection of threads and notions?
- Craft Items: Describe what those items are, where they are located, and what you would like your family to do with them.
- Everything else: Provide specific instructions for rehoming any remaining items. This could include donating them, selling them, or giving them away to another quilter or crafter.
- Donations: Do you want anything to be donated to a specific organization? If so, what do you want to donate – and what organization would be receiving the donation?
- Online Quilt Groups: If you belong to any online quilting communities, list them and how you want those groups to be notified.
- Quilt Guilds or small quilt groups: List them and how you want those groups to be notified.
One final question to consider – Do you have strong feelings about anything that you don’t want to have happen with your quilting and crafting collection? If you do, be sure to spell it out in your letter.
Do you want a copy of these questions – and a sample letter/form to help you get started on writing your own letter? Just click on the link to print out your guide. You can fill in the blanks with your specific wishes.