Quilting: A Philosophical Journey - For the Passion

Missy works very hard, during the week, serving her community as a CPA.  Because she works with small businesses and individuals with their finances and their taxes, she has a few times during the year that she works a ton of overtime. She also is a wife to a hunky, supportive husband and a mother to 3 beautiful children. Her husband also works a 40 hour a week  as a mechanic.  Together they raise those 3 children, where 2 of them are currently in high school, and the youngest is in middle school. Between her work and her family life, she is super busy.   Although she enjoys what she does and loves her family to the moon and back, she simply cannot wait for those evenings or weekends that she has plenty of time to indulge herself with her passion.  Her passion is what, you ask?  Quilting!  If she isn’t at work, on a date with her husband, at a child’s soccer game, helping her oldest navigate their way in finding and applying for college, or helping one of her children study for their next test, you find her in her sewing room with her needle, thread, and machine!  She looks forward to retirement where she sees herself quilting every single day!

Before I knew what quilting was, I had no earthly idea what this industry was about or how passionate people could be about quilting.  I really had no idea that this too would be my own passion.  Since then, I have learned that quilting is simply magical!  Not all of the millions that quilt are passionate about it.  However, there are a metric ton of quilters that are.  For those, it just seems that they simply cannot get enough of it.  You can find them making quilted everything!  Table runners, pillowcases, quilted postcards, placemats, purses, wall hangings, bed runners, and various sizes of quilts are just some of the items.  The list is endless and completely up to the creator on what their next project will be.  But, one thing is the same…they have something under their needle at any given time, and they LOVE IT!

You can find other passionate quilters at guilds or bees, shopping for the next project fabrics or a new gadget that will make quilting easier or more accurate, online watching a video on Youtube to learn a new technique, taking a class online or at their local quilt shop, engaged on Facebook live event with other quilters, listening to various podcasts while they are in their sewing rooms, or at the next quilt show.  As the passion grows, so does everything else related to quilting. 

Quilters are passionate about the art, the creativity, the traditions, and/or maybe the processes (heck, you may even enjoy the math…lol).  One of the many reasons I am passionate about quilting is the idea that quilting offers me a life long journey of learning.  Are you a life learner?  Do you really enjoy learning?  In every career I’ve had, I would simply get bored.  Once I felt more than competent, I always have looked for more challenges to keep me engaged.  In quilting, there are so many techniques, patterns, processes that I have not tried, or different types of quilts or projects.  It, literally, will take me my entire life, and some, to get through everything that quilting has to offer.  The challenges are something I do not ever believe I will ever be able to get all the way through.  Although, I will be honest, I am certainly going to try!  Some I will like, some I will not.  But, I will never know what is what without first trying.  Maybe you feel exactly the same way!

Just as I have outlined in this series, quilting offers sooooooo much to an individual.  Whether it is to make a homemade gift, to do charity work, help with your mental health, offer help to someone that needs to heal, to connect to someone on their level, for community,  for a restorative therapeutic activity, the need for you to create, or because you have found a passion, quilting offers this and so much more to you.  And, to be honest, it doesn’t even matter why or what kind of quilting you do.  We are quilters.  We are embracing the tradition.  We are connected.  Let’s continue this together, just as quilting is supposed to be.

I do realize that I have written for several weeks about why people quilt. Inside of those reason, you can see also why it matters that people quilt. However, what does it really matter?  What does it matter that you quilt or not? Your intelligence, ingenuity, skills, and love-all these things come together inside every quilt you make no matter where it goes or why. Each of your quilts are a gift to the world that truly spreads beauty, joy, and love. Each of your quilts makes you and our world a better place! So, please, KEEP quilting! You, my friend, are making a difference! That is why it matters!

Until next time, may you continue to be inspired, productive, and joyful!  And never stop making your dreams in quilting come true!

-Angel

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