Celebrating National Quilting Day

Although my exposure to quilting is very limited, I do have a genuine appreciation for the fine skills required to bring those random pieces of fabric to each rightful place. The men and women who call themselves "quilters" have my utmost respect and admiration, and they rightfully deserve a day dedicated specifically to their craft!

I was recently given the privilege of crossing over into the world of a local quilter. My newfound friend Brenda graciously opened her home to me for coffee, conversation, and a tour of her sewing room. As I stepped across the threshold into her beautiful home, I felt like I was in an amazing quilt museum! (Little did I know I'd eventually step into a seemingly different dimension...but I'll get to that later.)

Brenda's former career was as a chemist, but as her young daughters grew from toddlerhood to school age, she began working less and less outside the home and found herself with a desire to find a way to be creative. Wondering what to do with scraps of fabric she had left over from past sewing projects, she designed a wall hanging which, in turn, led to quilting lessons from a friend in her church. 

After taking a tour of Brenda's first two floors (every room had at least one quilt, BTW), we moved towards the other dimension, and I found myself holding my breath just a little bit in anticipation of what was ahead. Stepping down into her lovely finished basement was what could be considered a quilter's paradise reminiscent of a small fabric shop. It houses two sewing machines, a large cutting table, a long arm (a special sewing machine used for quilting), several shelves filled with bolts and bolts of fabric, and lots, lots more! For Brenda, quilting has become a deeply fulfilling outlet that allows her to not only express her God-given talent and creativity through quilt and pattern design but also by bringing immense joy to others through her many exquisite quilted gifts.