Want a quilt woven with 'cupcakes and confetti'? She's giving hers away.

To the melodic hum of her sewing machine, Deborah Sherer spent three weeks taking needle to thread to create something beautiful. Now, she wants to give it away.

Stitched together with what she calls “layers of happiness,” the quilt is large enough to fit a full bed. Its front is speckled with blues, greens and yellows, a touch of turquoise, a splash of pink. Its back is just as delicious — a medley of cupcakes topped with cherries, frosting and sprinkles.

Deborah Sherer (right) displays her specially-made quilt along with her cousin, Tiangela Sherer.

It measures at 66 by 94 inches and requires two people to hold it just for a photo.

It doesn’t have a name, per se — although, the fabric on its front is called “Confetti designed by Me and My Sister for Moda Fabrics.” It does, however, have a meaning, a purpose, if you will.

“Confetti and cupcakes, which inspires a celebration,” says Deborah, a 55-year-old. “Somebody is happy because some sort of celebration is going on. It could be a milestone or joyous occasion. It’s a happy quilt.”

The result of God-given skill and ingenuity, Deborah is first to admit this quilt isn’t for her. It’s for someone — anyone — who will use it, not abuse it. She wants to give it to someone celebrating or in need of a smile; someone young or old, wealthy or poor, sick or healthy.

“I want to find that one person who’s deserving of my work,” Deborah says. “I want them to know that they don’t need to dwell on life’s sorrows, that they can rejoice in all things.”

Why a quilt?

Deborah threaded her first needle when she was eight years old and her grandmother let her help with a sewing project. After her grandmother died, sewing fell by the wayside until high school. She needed an elective to graduate, so she chose an industrial sewing class.

Deborah Sherer (left) and Tiangela Sherer display the back of the quilt. 

She did so well, she says, that she competed in a statewide sewing competition. She was named first runner-up — “I still have that plaque,” she says.

She sewed the dresses for her junior and senior proms and, as the years wore on, made clothes, skirts and hemmed her own pants. As an adult, she became a volunteer with the American Red Cross’ disaster team. There, she met two women who knew how to make quilts — something Deborah longed to learn.

So, the ladies taught her.

“I made a ‘trip around the world’ quilt,” she says. “From that, I took what I learned in the classes and came up with some of my own creations.”

Those creations have included a memory quilt for her niece’s high school graduation and a massive spread that hangs in the sanctuary of her church, Tabernacle of Praise Church International. “I enjoy spending time with my sewing machine,” Deborah says.

But why this quilt?

One day while at her home in Rock Hill, S.C., Deborah decided to make a quilt to brighten her day —”sewing relaxes me and gives me energy,” she says. She went to one of her favorite fabric stores and started searching for material that spoke to her.

“Most of the colors were boring,” she says. “I wanted something bright.”

She stumbled on the confetti fabric. She took it home and began to strategize over her inventory. The fabric was sold in blocks: the first was 10 by 10; the second, 5 by 5; the third, 2 by 2. It hit her: she would sew the fabric in layers to symbolize different “layers of happiness.”

Before long, she sewed the entire front of the quilt. Now, she had to figure out something for the back. She began searching for fabrics online but “nothing was cheerful enough for me,” she says. She returned to the store, walked to the children’s section and found the cupcakes.

The front of the quilt. 

Giving it away

Why would a skilled seamstress spend $150 on fabric and then spend three weeks intricately stitching together cloth, patterns and designs just to give it away for free? 

It’s simple: It feels good.

“I wanted to make somebody else’s day,” Deborah says. “That would make me feel good and somebody else, too.”

So, each day after work and on the weekends, she sewed and designed and created. She poured in love and dexterity and pride. Now that it’s finished, it’s time to give it away.

“I need to give this to someone,” Deborah says, “and I want it to be someone special.”

Are YOU that special person? If you know someone who is deserving of the quilt, contact Deborah Sherer at dasblessedquilts@yahoo.com and explain WHY you want the quilt and what you plan to do with it.