Broken Herringbone Block

Being broken is something most of us feel in various ways and as I worked on this block named "Broken Herringbone", I thought about brokenness. Its hard to go into the deep in a bright and sunny day, but sometimes going deep brings up healing, so I decided to walk the path as I created this block.

It was another scrappy experiment that I love. I did have to play with them as the block was assembled and maybe that's why I thought about the healing process for those areas of our brokenness.

I think almost every person remembers a time in their childhood when they thought they were unloved, not wanted and responsible for everything going wrong in their families, in their classroom, for their teams not winning, and for lost contracts at work. We believe that everything is our fault.

As we mature, we learn to ask for support. I read this pattern and the first cut was at a 45 degree angle. I couldn't understand it no matter how many times I read it and looked at the photos, and had to ask for help. Once that first step was made, I could add the other pieces and even fill in where a strip wasn't long enough. 

And I love the result so much that I made another one for my 12" Christmas Block swap.

The concept of brokenness was something on my mind all day. I've been reading THE GAME OF THRONES books again, and in it, the author treats two differently abled characters with a lot of depth.

One of them is a dwarf, born into a rich family and the other is a young boy pushed from a tower window breaking his back. In both cases, the author lets the reader into the minds of the protagonists and also sees how people around them treat their brokenness. As the story continues, the reader witnesses the brokenness of every character and how they work with what they have and go forward.

Brokenness is not a clean wound or experience. As I put away fabric remnants, there were enough to start another block. I figured it could go on Jake's quilt. However, all I had were the scraps and put this together. Its not the true pattern because to make IT, I would have had to cut more and waste more. 

"Healing" doesn't come as clean or look the same for everyone. Some folks just give the pain time to heal, others seek therapy or turn to their faith. Some, unfortunately seek solace with alternative methods to avoid healing, or avoid the issues. This has got to be ok too. 

When the blocks come in from folks who used the fabric they had and the pattern they liked, the resulting quilt is called a 'Sampler'. When I look at such quilts, I see the overall effect and am impressed with how the diversity of fabrics and block patterns all coordinate. I am convinced that this version of the Broken Herringbone will work in Jake's holiday quilt.