About Us

My Story — Stitched Through Generations

My love of quilting began long before I ever realized it was something special.

Growing up, my great-grandmother, Laura Pilgrim Claborn (1908–1999), lived almost next door to me. I can still picture her at her wooden quilting frame, stitching nearly every day. She quilted for others to earn a little extra money, and that frame was rarely empty. There always seemed to be another beautiful quilt stretched across it, waiting for her hands to bring it to life. She had many talents including writing her own pattern, The Dalha pictured below and also published.

Some of my sweetest memories, though, are of something much simpler. As Grandma emptied her wooden spools of thread, she saved every single one in a five-gallon bucket for me and my cousins. We would stack those old wooden spools and build with them as though they were Legos. At the time, I had no idea how precious those moments would someday become. To me, it was simply what we did at Grandma’s house. Because she was right there beside me growing up, quilting never seemed unusual or complicated. It was just a normal part of life. Fabric, thread, quilts in progress, and the steady work of her hands were simply part of my childhood.

Looking back now, I realize she was quietly planting something in me. Her love of quilting found its way through the generations and into my own heart. What began beside “Big Grandma’s” wooden quilting frame has become Bayou Quilt Co.—a place where I hope to share beautiful fabrics, creativity, inspiration, and the joy of making something with your own two hands. More than anything, I hope her story—and mine—reminds you that you don’t have to be an expert to begin. Pick up some fabric. Learn a stitch. Make something imperfect and beautiful. You never know who might be watching, or how far your love of creating might travel.

Some things are simply stitched into us.

For me, quilting is one of them.

— Donnette

Bayou Quilt Co.