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When I was growing up, dinner guests brought boxes of candy.
We were allowed to sample just one piece of chocolate.
Sampling is a privilege I still cherish.
Now, though, I "taste"e and "test" quilting delights.
And I'm no longer limited to "just one."
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Sweets for the Sweet
By Helen Kelley
My mother was a fabulous cook. When I was growing up, dinner guests who came to our house invariably brought her a sampler box of candy. You know the kind I mean, don't you? The boxes are like treasure chests and are printed with a design that looks like cross-stitched flowers on linen. When we opened that box, each sweet square and round dollop and little pillow with chocolatey squiggles and flourishes on it was cradled in a ruffled paper cup. Some of the most delectable pieces were wrapped in golden foil.
There was a chart on the inside of the lid that told us exactly where to find the maple creams and the butter pecans, the almond pastes and the orange fondants. Allowed to have "just one piece," we children studied that chart carefully. Our mouths watered, and the privilege of choosing one piece--any one of them--was a child's dream.
Now that I am all grown up, the joy of sampling is still a privilege I cherish. My imagining, my pleasuring, and the final choosing isn't as much about my taste buds now as it is about ideas that make my fingers itch. Now, all of the intriguing, delicious things that I like to "taste" and "test" are in quilt shows or are pictured in my latest quilt magazine. There, wonderful delights are laid out for me like a banquet. They tempt me, and I am no longer restricted to "just one. "
Some choices are big projects and amazing challenges, as anyone who has ever undertaken to applique an entire Hawaiian quilt top can tell you. Projects of that sort are designed for quilters who have enormous reserves of energy and astonishing skills. Hooray for them! Others just starting out on their quilting adventure might prefer to make smaller pieces in their quiet times. Some quilters love traditional pieced blocks and graceful borders; others love devising unusual techniques with exotic fabrics. The amazing thing about this treasure chest of quilting patterns and techniques and styles is that we can pick and choose and savor just like I sampled the nougats and the syrupy fruits in that box of candy.
New quilters developing their skills sometimes find their eyes are bigger than their stomachs. If they undertake a challenge that is too far beyond their experience, they can lose heart. But everyone needs options, exciting things we can do at our own pace.
My tastes developed as I nibbled at new things. In the beginning--just like all newbies--I learned to thread a needle from a patient teacher. I moved ahead, learning step by step. As a child my very first stitches were taken on dishtowels and pot holders. Those beginning stitches were not a pretty sight, but they prepared me to make better stitches as I moved along to quilts. Each project on the way taught me something. I've dabbled in so many things. Some of the things that I tasted, I loved. Some of them were less exciting, some disappointing. Some of them were disasters. And some of them exhilarated me. Over time I learned what colors make my heart sing, what kind of batting works best for me, and what techniques and designs make me happiest.
If you are a quilter who wrestles with the strain of your job or if you are short on energy and time because you are raising a rambunctious family, you need smaller, easier challenges. That's okay. Quilting should be therapy for the over-burdened, not a chore done in spite of life's pressures.
The variety of delights in our quilter's sampler box gives us choices, for both the quilters who prefer the simple pleasures of relaxed quilting and the ultra-ambitious, amazing achievers. We should be able to dip into our sampler chest and taste and enjoy. I love caramels and the gooey sweetness that melts in my mouth. I love the pleasure of hand applique, too. What sorts of things are your favorites? Paper piecing, rotary cutting, or playing with colors? You and I have choices, every one of us. There are wonderful hidden treasures in our quilting sampler box. Every time we open it up, there is the possibility of a new adventure.
I can open a box of candy and pick my favorite flavor, but the sweetest pleasure of all is surely the joy I find when I sample from all my quilting possibilities.
©HK 2005
Helen Kelley is a quiltmaker, lecturer, author, and teacher from Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can visit Helen on the Internet at her website www.helenkelley-patchworks.com or email Helen at this address: helen@helenkelley-patchworks.com.
Helen's book Every Quilt Tells a Story: A Quilter's Stash of Wit and Wisdom is a collection of two decades of Loose Threads. Now in its second printing, the book is available at quilt shops, bookstores, or from us at www.VillageQuiltShoppe.
View our archive of Loose Threads columns.
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