Short Attention Span Quilting - - - Linda S. Schmidt, Fabric Artist
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Quilt

The quilt in this picture is the first quilt my Mom made for me, out of scraps of mine and my sister's clothes, her aprons and dresses, and whatever scraps were available.  She hand quilted it, and sent it to me for Christmas the first time I was living away from home, with my new husband, far away from Minnesota where I grew up.  I still have it, somewhat worse for wear, but it's still keeping people warm at night, safe beneath the quilt my Mother made to keep me from the cold.

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Quilt, by Gloria Evanick Ferguson

Lives evolve in patterns
Intermixing dark and light,
Calico and solid times,
Faded prints and bright.
Sometimes we choose the pattern,
But we very often find
A crazy quilt where we had planned
A geometric, safe design.

Holding front to back for me
And all that’s in between
Is love of family and friends
Like stitches, barely seen,
That thread the blocks together,
That heighten and define
All that makes this work unique,
All that makes it mine.

Mornings, as I make my bed,
Putting wrinkles all away
I greet the most familiar blocks -
I know you!  Yesterday
You were the blouse my sister made,
And you my brother’s vest
And there is Grandma’s apron.
And here my daughter’s dress. 


By night, I rest and feel its warmth,
Knowing there will be
More of darkness and of light,
Patterns yet to see
Until it’s time to rest again,
Safe within the folds
Of the quilt made by my mother’s hands
That keeps me from the cold.

There is vitality, a life-force, a quickening that is translated through you into action. And because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through another medium. It will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is…It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. - Martha Graham

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."  - Mother Theresa

"When the eye, the hand, and the heart come together, that's when you get the greatest art." - David Hockney
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