The more I work in this fabric art, the less I hold to a preconception of how it should end up. Even though I follow patterns, for the most part, my continuing experiences are allowing me to engage in the magick of it all as well as in the depth of the moment.
The whole mission of my work has not changed. Every stitch is still a prayer for the recipient of any given project. I feel a very strong connection to that person as I work. And where I used to wonder if that was how my Grandmothers & Aunties felt when they made me something, I KNOW that is how they felt whether it was a conscious or unconscious feeling, it was why they worked, how they worked.
And so every stitch I make connects me to my ancestors as well as to my descendants & friends; to the sisterhood of all those who worked to make life easier or more beautiful for others. I watch my sewing machine needle go down and up, and know that the threads link to each other and through the fabric parts. As do we.
When my days are fractured, and I feel scattered and unfocused, quilting brings me back to a balance I need in my soul. Some days the tasks are mindless, but they are never without partnership if I allow myself the moment to go there. I am never sure if in writing such things that anyone understands the power in this work, or if they might think I am some go-mer. And then, I remember that I am doing this --- the quilting, and the blogging --- for me first and foremost.
