“I CAN DO HARD THINGS!”
I laid out the quilt I've been working on all these years to get an idea what it looks like. I will have a solid cream color of little off-white strips in between each row and a paisley print on the back to finish it off.
To be truthful, when I first saw this pattern after I committed myself to make the quilt...I thought, “What the heck???! I can't do this!”
When they said, “Now cut out 150 triangles of this color and another 150 triangles of this fabric and...and...”
I thought, “Whaaattt???!”
Both my mother and sister are avid quilters. My mom stood by me for quite awhile watching lending support while I measured and cut and went from there.
It was way way too much and overwhelming. My sister showed me how to break the project down into bite-size pieces to get started and I cannot believe how the squares quickly came together! It was pretty amazing to see the pieces unfold.
I thought back on the many antique quilts I possess and have seen and how many beautiful hands have touched the fabric and yes, hand sewn each block. How many of these great ladies, my grandmothers, mother, sister, aunties, daughters, granddaughters felt overwhelmed thinking, “I can’t do this?!”
Imagine all the time taken, needle pricks, unpicking, children running underneath the frames of unfinished work giggling and chasing each other, while those around shared deep thoughts, gained wisdom, and unfinished stories.
Yet, it was done, a project completed, a lovely work of art created to lend warmth by loving hands on a cold winter’s night-what we know simply as, “a quilt,” lasting for generations. And don’t forget the forethought of adding the odd square so that the evil spirits have an escape route therefore leaving a blanket of love to bless those it covers and protects during a lengthy slumber.
Lesson learned: “I CAN do this!”
Like those before me. I can start and finish an intricate project, a work of art, to keep me and others warm and bless lives for generations and inspiring those that come after me with my love.
I CAN DO HARD THINGS!
