Quilting Saved me in this Foreign Land

"Work is not primarily a thing one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. It is, or should be, the full expression of the worker's faculties, the thing in which he finds spiritual, mental, and bodily satisfaction, and the medium in which he offers himself to God."

Dorothy L. Sayers, 1893-1957

 

 Cherries! Cherries! Cherries! What a happy piece!

 

Now, how can quilting save me? Save me from what? Why quilting? 

 

It happened just about five years ago when Jerry and I moved from MD to this NW PA town. I knew nobody. Nobody. Nobody.

 

Being on the quiet side and not one to put myself out there, I was one lonely and depressed soul. After six months of this, I finally got up my courage and went to a quilting session at my new church. 

That was the beginning of my comfort in this foreign town. Quilting was something I had only admired, but didn't think I could do. It was the perfect place to start to fit in and accomplish something new.

 

I've been quilting ever since. I'm still with the group and my duty is sewing the tops, batting and backs together. I always have something to do and it provides a sense of productivity. The group gives the blankets to various groups, here and overseas.

 

I watched videos online to learn how to make the tops. And another world opened up to me. I've discovered I enjoy creating pieces this size better than trying to make larger pieces. I put them over chairs on table tops or hang them on the wall.

More cherries!

A few months ago I purchased some fabric with cherry's on it. Cherries have always been a favorite food for me, but the real treat was eating it with chocolate first, potato chips second and then the cherries. Well, there's no more chocolate or potato chips in my life so cherries are now a favorite treat. Just one or two add an extra umph to my day.

Last week I decided to work with my cherry fabric. It was a fun week creating! Six tops are done and over the course of time I'll add backs, batting and binding. And I still have 1/2 yard left of the cherry fabric!

 

I've decided they will be my March decorations! It's my birthday month and since I love cherries it should make a special scene. I'll keep three pieces and give away three.

I thank the ladies I work with through the year, and I'm thankful to be a part of something good. Oh, I still miss my friends from MD, and enjoy them via text and email. Especially those lifelong friends. They never leave you.

Yes, quilting did save me. I'm probably still considered a foreigner here, but I'm now comfortable living in the country and my days are filled with productivity.

 

 "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody."

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12