Left: Lydia Cutler displays her gift for Emily.
Top right: Emily Cutler loves riding horses.
Bottom right: The burning bush decorates the
bottom of the quilt.

quilt," her husband says. "It shows both an art form and spe-
cial skills. I hope there are many people interested in continu-
ing quilting projects so it won't be a lost art form."
Cutler, who graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit
and served as an occupational therapist for Detroit-based
Henry Ford Hospital and the local Jewish Home for Aged,
enjoys sewing and craft projects because she likes setting
goals and having a sense of accomplishment when the goals
are reached.
Besides following through with her own ideas, some done
with the Pomegranate Guild and others with the Embroidery
Guild of America, she meets with a group from Hadassah to
create dolls for hospitalized children.
Although Cutler picked up many sewing methods from her
mother, the tables turned when it came to quilting.
"As my mother got older and didn't have things to do,
I would give her different kinds of projects that I used for
patients in occupational therapy," Cutler says.

"She kept doing them faster and faster, so I needed big-
ger and bigger projects. We went on to quilting and worked

together to make quilts for my sons: Jeffrey, who is Emily's dad,
and Laurence."
Jeffrey Cutler thinks of his daughters quilt as an heirloom.
He and his wife, Susan, display their own Lydia Cutler quilt on
a rack in their bedroom.
"I hope the quilt will be passed on to future generations of
our family," says Jeffrey, who grew up in Michigan. "This is so
special because of the Jewish symbols and the signatures. We
also think of it as special because it reflects my mother's dedi-
cation to Judaism and her passion for sewing."
Emily received one other treasured handmade gift from a
family friend. A wood-carving hobbyist, he used olive wood
grown in Israel to make a pen and pencil set for her.
Jessica Roskin, the cantor who helped officiate during
Emily's service at Temple Emanu-El in Birmingham, Ala., was
impressed with Emily's presentation and the presentation of

the quilt. She made sure to add her best wishes in one of
the stars.
"This is the first time I've ever seen a quilt made specifically
for a bat mitzvah, and it's extraordinary," she says. "I think it's
a beautiful way to pass along religious expression from one
generation to the next."
Cutler, who sewed in her name and date of completion on
the back of the quilt, has gone on to six other consecutively-
done quilting projects, the smaller ones taken with her as she
travels, recently to Hawaii and France.
"I overlap projects as I take workshops to learn new tech-
niques," explains Cutler, who also takes along materials to sew
while visiting with friends. "I start something new when I see a
method I want to try, and I think of all my quilts as keepsakes
that will remain beyond my lifetime!'

celebrate! I

March 2008

B31