A Meditative Marathon

The arcs are piling up...on the floor

Every quilt-in-progress goes through an "ugly stage" where it looks nothing like the beautiful quilt it will one day become. The Double Wedding Ring quilt and I are definitely in such a stage. About 140 chained together arcs are in a crumpled heap on the floor next to the sewing machine. (And, I'm in sweats all covered with thread bits. Not at all attractive!)

It's been a two-day piecing marathon, and a meditative one at that. Making hundreds of 2-inch seams one at a time is pretty mindless work, which makes the perfect space for the meditation to kick in. To the hum of the sewing machine, I've thought lots about everything from the passing of the Pope to what's for dinner.

I notice that I've spent a lot of time thinking about the future recipients of this quilt. (I tend to think about recipients while I make something for them.) In my more lucid moments, when I'm not in a state of panic about the sheer magnitude of this project, it's wonderful to imagine where this heirloom might travel in the future. It's fun to imagine how the daughter of one of my young nieces might say one day, "My great aunt made this quilt. I remember seeing this quilt at my grandparents' house when I was young. My mother used it in a spare room for years, and now we have it in our guest room."

Then, with the snap of a thread, I'm back to present day life where I am knee deep in a quilting project where I am admittedly in over my head. With more arcs to make, and a pile on the floor screaming to be pressed and trimmed. Needless to say, there's much more to do before these colorful scraps of fabric become an heirloom.