Sunday, November 24, 2013

What Quilting Has Taught Me

Pretty in Pink

Scrappy Seasonal ornaments
Scrappy Seasonal ornaments


Above all else, to be patient, with my husband, my children, friends, colleagues, and with myself. 

Making a perfect quilt with exactly matching mitered corners, pristine binding, and flawless quilting, is nearly impossible, and this is evident early on in one’s study of quilt construction. 

Quilting allows me to fudge a little, to forgive myself when my blocks don’t match up or my rows don’t nest.  My brow furrows a bit, I push my glasses back up the bridge of my nose and wrestle for a moment, knowing only I will remember where that fussy cut could have been but wasn’t.  And that’s OK. 

Quilting has taught me to appreciate the time at my sewing machine, be it 5 minutes or 5 hours.  With each steady run of my sweet Bernina, that much worry and tangled thought exits painlessly. 

Quilting has taught me to think ahead, if even for a few hours, whilst I select delicious fabrics, do some basic measurements, and dream up a new design, always with someone in mind.  It has taught me to repurpose even the most miniscule scrap of fabric, something that translates into a way of life. 

It has taught me the beauty of creating something for somebody, not just for creating’s sake.  It allows me to love a person and my relationship with them in a very particular way.  For what fun is it to keep such treasured creations when happiness is sure to blossom when it’s given. 

Quilting allows me to think, to reflect, travel to the times and places in my life, to repair feelings and worries about people and events. 

It let’s me listen to music, uninterrupted. 

It never stresses me out.  It fits me to a tea.  It’s part of my life’s work.    

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