Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Quilt of Life


When sorting through a box of my mother's quilt patterns, I found some newsletters from a quilting guild that she belonged to years ago. One had a story that should be shared. It is called "The Quilt of Life" by Doyle Loving. Parts are poignant and sad, but hope shines through on life's stage. It appears that he wrote this at a time when his wife was facing difficulty in life.

It's the oddest looking quilt you have ever seen, unfinished and worn, there are even some places where the blocks have been torn. The lack of design will make your eyebrows raise in surprise, and some of the colors used will assault your eyes. I will raise no excuse for the look of my quilt; much of it was constructed in pain and great guilt. I am the author of the blocks both the big and the small, and they reflect life lived both the short and the tall.

The block in the center is all yellow with age, and is where the quilt started, it's like the first page. The block seems so odd with the pink of new life, but quickly turns red with the skilled surgeons knife. It took me twelve years to finish this part; it's surrounded with the dark colors of a not so good start. The work of a child is the obvious conclusion, stitched together while shivering in fear and confusion.

The blocks surrounding the center are wild indeed, the color of anger and overwhelming need. There is the maroon block, for innocence lost, and the color of betrayal covers it all like a frost. The colors that are missing leap out from this section, where are the bright colors of education? The bright colors of childhood are yet to be seen, for the colors of work have a more ominous sheen.

I surveyed the quilt after sixteen years of labor, I wanted to stop quilting for life had no savor. It was there I met a companion that refused to depart, my nemesis depression moved into my heart. You see that black swatch that's biggest of all, it almost took over my quilt and predestined my fall.

In a flash of wonder the colors turn brighter! I met the light of my life and she made me a fighter. She told me although our quilts had no brightness so far, if we quilted together our quilt would be bright as the stars. So we both joined our quilts with a very strong thread, and vowed that our future would be filled with laughter in steed. Our quilt became one and it was almost all dark, most everyone though our future as quilters was stark. But the thread that joined our quilts was strong and bright and the most beautiful quilt was begun on that night.

Now our quilt has yellows and blues, look there are our children's blocks with their wonderful hues. The pinks are surrounded by bright colors all round, and dark colors on their blocks are not to be found.

We started to sash the quilt when we met, the bright red of commitment now looks like a net. There were many colors we didn't even know existed, we stitched those in and the dark we resisted. Oh there are a few spots on our quilt that are dark, but the colors around them make them look no so stark. And as for our kids, they have quilt of their own, and the center of their quilts have a much brighter tone. Our quilt has grown large, making the center look smaller, and quilting together makes our blocks a lot taller.

Each block tells its story of sunshine and rain, and somehow the laughter has taken over the pain. The quilt is so odd with its color and design, it is the quilt of our life and the story of our time. The quilt keeps us warm when the storms outside rage, and keep us reminded of the plays on life's stage. We wouldn't trade our quilt, though many others are so nice, our quilt has come to us at a very high price. It is dark in the middle and still unfinished, but our love for the quilters is still undiminished.

If your quilt has some dark, and I know all quilts do, then let me express this hope for you. May the bright colors of life overtake your quilt, and may not a block you sew be done with guilt. May it keep you warm when the rain should appear, and give you direction when toward the good times you steer. These quilts we all sew some with dark, some with bright, and they keep us warm when we just don't want to fight. So fight on, my dear wife, and remember this too: nobody can make a quilt like you!


~ If you were to write a story about the quilt of your life, what would it look like?

12 comments:

  1. What a neat find!
    Lisa :O)

    ReplyDelete
  2. My quilt of life would definitely be a crazy quilt, never quite matching, but somehow all coming together in the end. It would be embroidered with a few teardrops, and a lot of smiles--a unique quilt, one that I treasure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh I'd have to give it a lot of thought. I know that it would have a lot of dead ends or what I thought were dead ends...patterns that stop suddenly and then reinvent themselves in brighter colors than before. Interesting story and it's neat that your mother saved it thinking it was a treasure as it is.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The question is a difficult one. Love the story though and how lovely to find it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Look at those stitches! Amazing! I'll give this question some thought.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi, again! I'll let you know how the worm bins work out. It takes several months before you can "harvest" the compost. We took a class from a local master gardener's group to learn how to set it up. Metro (our local 3-county govt) has a great flyer on it. I can send you one if you'd like. If so, send me your mailing address at stephw3-at-yahoo-dot-com. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great poem/story of life. Obvious how much in love he was with his wife. I think my quilt would definitely be the crazy kind with all kinds of colors and lots of loose ends all over the place. :) Wishing you a wonderful day. Tammy

    ReplyDelete
  8. Guess what? You've won my latest blog giveaway! Congrats!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi La Tea Dah! Nice story. I've been away, to Colorado. Back now, safe and sound.

    The quilt of my life? Hmmmm, now that would be a beauty. There would definitely be bright, happy squares and lots of zig zagging. There'd be some totally black pieces, too. And gold thread running through all! Susan

    ReplyDelete
  10. What a great story.

    My quilt of life would have God's grace and mercy stamped all over it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just peeking in really, looking around...hoping to find you making tea...not being pushy at all...thinking of you... ♥

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting on my blog post. I am always happy to hear from blog readers. Your words encourage and inspire me. I am glad you stopped by to share conversation, recipes, ideas, and thoughts on creating a welcoming home.