I am Julia Graves, and I have been sewing since I was ten.  I have always loved fabric and sewing and needle arts in general and the whole creative process! 

I did my apprenticeship as a quilter by making a quilt for each of my nieces and nephews (I should have counted them all before I made this promise to them – I’ve made 32 so far!).  Each quilt was unique and made specifically with the person in mind and helped me expand my repertoire of color schemes and quilting styles.

I also made several quilts for special people that incorporated memories, encouraging statements, and/or signatures to let them know how much they were cared for.  Some examples include a memory quilt for my mother’s 75^th birthday, a get well quilt for a friend diagnosed with cancer, a heart quilt created by my Sunday School class for a class member’s sister who was going through rehab, and a wall hanging quilt commemorating our church and our sister church in Russia.   See the photo gallery for photos and stories behind these quilts.

From these experiences, I decided to start Special Occasion Quilts, LLC so that I could help others create a one-of-a-kind expression of their caring.  Each Special Occasion quilt is designed and created to express the essence of the recipient and the love in the relationships.   It is a great joy to see how touched people are when they receive something crafted specially for them.