If ya wanna have your faith restored in humanity, get to know a QUILTER…
With all the heartbreak, negativity, etc. in the world at this time it can be hard not to be dragged into the undertow. I get it. But i just wanna offer this food for thought…
QUILTERS are AMAZING HUMAN BEINGS! Little did i know that when i joined the Sisterhood of Quilters over 30 years ago, that i would be privileged to know, love, and be loved by such an incredibly special and giving group of exceptional people. It was just icing on the cake that they ALL also loved quilting just as much as i did!
I remember my first weekend retreat. My quilting buddy and i had planned for months to make it special. We were so excited! However, we were GREENHORNS - we had no idea that you probably should precut all your fabric and pick a project that is kinda MINDLESS. Cuz, well ya know when you’re at a retreat its as much about the visiting, laughing, and bonding with new friends as it is about quilting! I learned that lesson pretty quickly when i realized that the first 8 or 9 blocks i was so proud to finish WERE ASSEMBLED WRONG by me cuz, well i was visiting more than paying attention to what i was doing. Imagine that!
But then QUILTERS CAME TO THE RESCUE! I couldnt believe it when my quilting buddy and another two anonymous quilters pulled up chairs with seam rippers in hand and helped me REVERSE SEW (lol) every single one of those blocks in about an hour! Because of them i wasnt discouraged and got right back to making my blocks (right this time). I was amazed that all of these ladies cared enough to give up an hour of their retreat time to get a stranger back to where she needed to be. And i made new friends in the process.
And what about the time when a fellow quilter on this board (you know who you are) after hearing my heartbreak over knowing i was about to lose my precious dog to cancer - cared enough OUT OF NOWHERE - she didnt know me personally from anywhere… sent me a package of PURPLE FABRIC (my favorite color) to cheer me! That ABSOLUTELY BLEW MY MIND! She reached out to me in compassion and i will never forget that!
Over the years i have witnessed quilters make hundreds of quilts to GIVE AWAY to people they would never know or even meet… because they CARED! Those efforts were CONTAGIOUS and a person could not witness something like that without JOINING IN THEMSELVES!
These are just a few examples to encourage all of us. And i was wondering… do YOU have any stories to tell???