The Restorative Joys of Quilting

I came home last night simply exhausted.  I am doing the work of what I thought I'd have 6-8 weeks to do in 1-2 weeks.  It's good to get it done, but it involves a multitude of forms and lots of information needed from a variety of personalities.

I came home thinking about how to recover.  I could go for an evening swim.  I could collapse on the sofa.  I could watch TV.  I brought home the movie Gravity.

In the end, I worked on my time-sensitive quilting project and watched the movie.  I must confess, I switched between it and reruns of Modern Family.  I fast-forwarded through some of the parts of floating through space.  There seemed to be huge swaths of floating through space.

It's my fault.  It's probably better on the big screen.  I was warned.  Happily, I checked it out from the library.

I finished my quilting project and looked up hours later to find myself restored. 

And before we get too far away from Sunday, let me record a joy. 

On Sunday, I took the project to church.  After the intergenerational service, I stretched it out on one of the tables to be able to cut and pin without having to be on my hands and knees.  Several girls came over and offered to help.  They asked me questions about quilting, and I gave a quick overview.

I offered to teach them more at a later point.  One girl said, "I've got nothing planned for today."  But alas, I didn't anticipate their interest, and so I had no supplies.

Still, I let them pluck pins out of a box and "help" pin the fabric.  I talked about the prayer shawl ministry and why quilts and blankets are such a comfort.  I talked about small pieces making bigger pieces.  I resisted giving a quick history lesson.

How I love quilting, one of the art forms that truly began in the U.S.  I love an art form born out of adversity, like the lack of cloth, that shows such cleverness and thrift.  I admire all the ways that humans have reinvented the form.

We'll be quilting again at my church.  We've got a day of service projects planned on September 7, and we'll be making at least one quilt for Lutheran World Relief.  Maybe we'll gather once a quarter to work on quilts.

Maybe I'll make a quilt kit for the girls who helped me on Sunday.  They wanted to make quilts for their dolls.  I was so thrilled that children still played with dolls--and that they want to make things for them!  I left feeling happy in so many ways.

Ah, quilting:  so restorative in so many ways.