Christmas Ribbons, 37 x 57 inches, by O.V. Brantley, 2008.

They say if you are not growing, you are dying. That’s as good a reason as any to continue to grow as a quilter.

Last year around this time, I was commissioned to make a quilt for the very first time. After viewing my quilting strictly as a hobby, it marked a turning point for me.

After deciding on the quilt I wanted to make, I decided I needed to practice first by making one for myself. I often make a quilt twice because I may not get it perfectly correct the first time. Christmas Ribbons was my practice quilt, and the commissioned quilt was Ribbons of Friendship.

Since that first commissioned quilt, I have been amazingly in demand in 2009. For that I am grateful — grateful that people love my work and grateful that I am still growing.

Christmas Ribbons is displayed at the Helene S. Mills Senior Multi-Purpose Center, 515 John Wesley Dobbs Drive, Atlanta, GA as part of the Clara Ford Foundation Christmas Tour of Quilts.