The beds are not made, the dishes not done... I'm at my machine, sewing
up fun! My only gardening is Grandmother's Flower. Only TV? Eleanore
Burns' hour. As I munch lunch, I read quilt magazines. Or peruse
Country Living for quiltable scenes. I write quilt poetry, attend quilt
guilds and shows, Work on my quilts if it rains, shines, or snows. Only
ironing I do is to flatten a square. Only cooking I do is chocolatey
fare. Only math that gets done helps me build blocks, Leaving no time
for sorting of socks. My stash is on shelves - glorious rainbow
display- Yards crammed in boxes, bought more today... Dinner's not on.
Nothing is dusted. Husband comes home- Quilter is busted.
© 1998 - Melinda K. Galbraith >>
LIFE IS LIKE A QUILT Life is like a patchwork quilt WARM THOUGHTS THE QUILT THE PATCHWORK COVERLET THE QUILTER A QUILT SEWN TOGETHER
It's OK if you sit on your quilt. STITCHER'S PRAYER CROSS STITCHER'S SAMPLER STITCHER'S PLEDGE SUNNING QUILTS Click to play "Wildfire"
And each little patch a day
Some patches are rosy, happy and bright
And some are dark and gray.
But each little patch as it's fitted in
And sewn to keep it together
Makes a finished block in this life of ours,
Filled with sun and rainy weather.
So let me work on life's patchwork quilt
Through the rainy days and the sun
Trusting that when I have finished my block
The Master may say, "Well done."
...unknown ---------
Love is a quilt -- a quilt is love
Both love and a quilt should be:
Soft enough to comfort you
Bright enough to cheer you
Generous enough to enfold you
Light enough to let you move freely
Strong enough to withstand adversity
Durable enough to last a lifetime
And given gladly, from the heart.
...unknown --------
=========
Grandmas Quilt
by: Joseph Darnell
I called you here on this rainy day that we might have some tea.
It was a day just like today, when your Grandma called on me.
She sat me down beside her and told me to take heed.
I pass this quilt now on to you as she placed it on my knee.
This quilt has many memories and tells you of my life.
For here's a piece of my wedding gown when your father took me as
wife.
When I became a mother, I let nothing go to waste.
From all your worn out dresses these pieces I have placed.
Remember the time you ran and fell and ripped your favorite skirt.
These pieces here came from it for I cut a way the dirt.
Mother I asked, "These pieces here, are they from the aprons you wore?"
She smiled and said "Yes my Dear, you see there's many more."
We sat and talked for hours as we drank our cups of tea.
She wanted me to pass it on with all its history.
Bless the hearts and hands
Of my good friend and dear mother
For the making of this quilt
As their gift to another.
Bless their weary fingers,
In the making of this treasure,
Demanding hours of skillful labor
Beyond what can be measured.
With every stitch,
I've been enriched,
Whenever I behold my quilt I will
always feel the special love
With which it was so warmly built.
So now I express my appreciation
For two of the finest people I have know,
By wishing most sincerely,
That they reap...what they have sewn.
...1985 by D.J. Parkhill,
dedicated to Judy and Wynona ---------
========
I have a treasure hid away
In that great chest above the stair.
Three generations held it dear,
As if 'twere gold or jewels rare,
Then passed it on to me; and I
Must keep it save, until the day
When my small daughter shall attain
The years of her majority.
Then she, in turn, will treasure it -
Great-grandma's patchwork coverlet!
Full many an hour the maker sat,
And plied her needle in and out,
The while her mind was busy, too,
With many a happy dream, no doubt,
Of when the finished quilt should lie
In all it's splendor, wide outspread -
A covering fit for king or queen -
Across the great four-posted bed
In her "spare room;" too fine 'twould be
For aught to use, save 'company!'
Day after day the pattern grew;
Each block was deftly set in place,
And rows of tiny stitches tell
A tale that time cannot efface -
Of patience, skill, housewifely pride,
Of woman's love for pretty things,
Of fingers trained such work to do
By those who knew the joy it brings,
Of time within the home well-spent,
The heart with homely tasks content.
So, when I'm weary of the strife
Of living in this modern age,
Softly I steal awhile away,
And thoughts of bygone days engage
My mind, as o'er my lap I spread
This emblem of a vanished past -
For me a magic carpet gay,
Whereon I ride -- until at last
I find relief from cares that fret,
There with great-grandma's coverlet!
...Doris Wheeler Blount
...Needlecraft magazine,
September 1928
======
Once my fingers touch the threads
Washing, dusting, unmade beds
Fade away into nothingness
And I in complete happiness
Let my heart soar with masters past
The patches blend designs so fast
That time flies by
And there am I
Peaceful, creative, contented, whole
Quilting becomes my very soul.
Author unknown
With utmost care
Quilted with love
Is a treasure to share.
"Dear old-fashioned quilts with your patches so gay
You retain all the charm of an earlier day
Like the old-fashioned garden our grandmothers grew
Our love never wanes for them or for you."
Friendship is a tapestry woven through the years
with threads of joy and laughter, happiness and tears.
I count the stitches line by line;
And watch the thread record the time.
Love and memories we impart to
quilt the fabric of the heart.
"May the colors of your life be bright
and the threads in your life very
strong"
May you be free from cares and woes
when 'neath this quilt you seek
repose.
May your sorrows be patched
and your joys quilted.
Piece, piece, piece, and lo, a counterpane
May each person resting here
Find peace, sweet peace
And ne'er encounter pain ...
Quilts, like friends, are
different, colorful, fun,
warm and comforting-
And you can never acquire enough of either.
This quilt, wrought with so much love,
Each tiny stitch you see,
Will be there when I am gone,
Reminding you of me.
When I give to you
What I make with my hands
I share with my heart
=========
It's OK if your bottle gets spilt.
If you swallow some air
And you burp, don't despair;
It's OK if you spit on your quilt.
There are scraps old and new on your quilt,
Put together for you on your quilt.
If your gums feel numb
'Cause your teeth haven't come,
It's OK if you chew on your quilt.
We expect you to lie on your quilt.
If you hurt you may cry on your quilt.
On a cold rainy night,
Don't you fret; you're all right;
You'll be snug, warm and dry on your quilt.
========
I pray that risen from the dead
I may in glory stand
A crown perhaps upon my head
But a needle in my hand
I've never learned to sing or play
So let no harp be mine
>From birth until my dying day
Plain sewing's been my line
Therefore accustomed to the end
To plying useful stitches
I'd be content if asked to mend
The little angel's britches
=============
Cross Stitchers love:
ice cream and roses
and puppydogs' noses
and kittycats' whiskers
and a sharp pair of Fiskars
and junebugs and beetles
and platinum needles
and "Just Cross-Stitch" in the mail
and Aida on sale
and finding new stores
and neglect household chores
and not being in the kitchen
since they'd rather be stitchin'
==========
The grocery money I will take
to the nearest stitch shop
to buy books and floss instead of steak
and stitch until I drop.
Though my soul may set in darkness,
It will rise in perfect light
I have loved the stars too fondly
Too be fearful of the night.
=========
by Effie Smith Ely
Out from their scented chests I draw
And hang my bright quilts in the sun,
Fashioned by deft and patient hands
Whose work-days now are done.
This Irish Chain in vivid rose
Was Great-Aunt Phoebe's hope and pride -
Dear little girl, who died too young
To be a happy bride.
These colors, with fair stitches joined
to form a bold True-Lovers' Knot,
Were lame Aunt Miriam's - in their glow
Her dull days she forgot.
My strong grandmother, unto whom
Life brought most bitter grief and smart,
Piecing this flower basket learned
To mend a broken heart.
Dead kinsfolk, who have left to me
These quilts you made in vanished springs,
Would that I had your fortitude
Your joy in simple things!
