On their way

I unfolded and carefully refolded and packaged 25 quilts today.  The shipping labels will get printed and then they will be on their way to the auction high bidders.  I am sad to see them go.  I got to know these quilts.  I looked at them over and over again, spread them on the beds here, felt the softness of those made from recycled saris, admired the master work of several of them, was inspired by the colorwork of some.  There were so many different styles of piecing and quilting this year.

So much beauty.

So much work.

So much love with every stitch.

I sometimes wonder if the bidders realize all that goes into a handmade quilt.  The thinking and dreaming about design and color, the cutting, the piecing, the careful layering of top, batting, and back, and then the quilting - by hand, on a home machine, or by a  long arm quilter. So many decisions each step of the way and the delightful ah hah! moments when it starts to be more than an idea or a few blocks; the day when it is all sewn together and you stand back and look at it and marvel at something that is at once a work of art and a humble bedcover.

I love quilts because they supply a basic need - staying warm - in ways that are artistically limitless.  Of course, this can be said of many things; knitted socks, houses, a good meal.

I'm hoping the recipients of this year's quilts will cherish them and that the women of Sari Bari will be deeply blessed by the work of the hands of many loving women.