Sewing Mends the Soul

You are a quilt

Pieces of memories

Carefully stitched together

With precious threads

Of love and joy

You swath my soul

With melodies

Of treasured yesterdays

You bring warmth

This cold, cold night

~Linda Dugger O'Rourke, 1979

This is the quilt from the poem

I just returned for a week in the homeland. Lincoln Nebraska, where I was born and went to college. I wrote this poem cuddled beneath a mosaic garden quilt lovingly handmade by my grandmother. I had that quilt in mind as the words flowed. I was also thinking about my boyfriend at another college 350 miles away. He and I have been married 33 1/2 years now!

One highlight of my trip was a guided tour of The International Quilt Study Center and Museum. It is a big building, housing thousands of quilts, mostly in storage. Only a small percentage of the quilts can be viewed at any given time. The ones we saw were incredible. 

I found the quilts of Ernest Haight most intriguing. An engineer and a farmer, Ernest made over 300 quilts in a 50 year period. Each one I examined was truly a masterpiece. Though every one was unique they reflected the period in which they were created.

Just a few quilts from my precious collection

In a quick count of the quilts I am blessed to call my own I came up with around 20. Some dating back around 70 years. The most recent are ones I made for my daughters. 

Made by a great aunt
before my mother married in 1946

My grandmother was a consummate quilter and seamstress. A quilting frame was ever present in her apartment, along with her treadle sewing machine. Her tailored garments always hung perfectly and her quilting stitches were uniform and tiny. I recognize house dresses my mother and her sisters wore in many of her quilts. They are comforting to me.

Crazy quilt I made for my daughter

I always wanted to make a quilt, but was a bit intimated by the size and my grandmother's perfectionism. I'm more fond of any quick project. I had done two or three small quilts and baby quilts and was collecting old jeans and flannel with plans to create something fun and cozy. Every day I could find an excuse to put it off. Then came September 11, 2001. Frozen by the events of the day I started cutting squares. It really is therapeutic. That quilt is worn out now, but my daughter still pulls it out to use when she's home.

A going away gift from a dear friend
created by her mother

A time to tear apart and

a time to sew together.

Ecclesiastes 3:7 

My dad (at 93, his first selfie) & me

Back home now, I'm inspired and ready to take on new projects as I treasure the old ones. What projects are you dreaming of starting? Today is a great day to begin!

Linda <><

My first full sized quilt started 9/11/2001