one thing i am consistently surprised by in the quilting community is the extent to which the history of quilting seems to be disregarded.
this was a utility skill and historical quilts were, by and large made out of fabrics that had served other uses. even the much coveted crazy quilts were made of scraps of luxurious fabrics, not whole bolt cuts.
and now because we live in such a wealthy culture, quilting - like so many other things - has a cultural commodity fetishism associated with it. my question is always why we feel some kind of shame or insufficiency for not being able to afford the very best, most expensive of everything. and further to that, why is acquiring the best and most expensive of everything the thing that seems to motivate us to do so many of the things we do?
there is satisfaction in making do with what we have, in taking pride in what we make and knowing that we have lived within our means. and if we have less than magnificent means, we should not feel shame nor poverty of spirit.
if your identity is tied up in what you have, what space have you left in your being for who you are and what you do?
aileen