Giving~
This is a follow-up post to my previous one on the subject of Encouragement. This post is broken down into three sections. Here, I am living by my word to offer and give encouragement where it's needed. This table runner was beautifully quilted by Laura. She blogs over at Tanderwen Quilts and shows some of her amazing quilting prowess there on a regular basis. She has recently redone her blog and many of her readers lost track of her new address in the shuffle. You can follow her through the link above... this past summer she upgraded from a domestic machine to an APQS George; believe me, you don't want to miss out on seeing any of her gorgeous quilting... check it out; there's plenty more eye-candy where this came from!
Receiving~
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| Free-pieced letters on Julie's design wall |
Another blogger friend, Quiltdivajulie, sent me an e-mail this morning with the following statement contained in it: YOU CAN DO IT!!! I had only yesterday commented on her blog about how much I wanted to make a quilt with some free-pieced letters like the ones pictured in her latest post. This was just the encouragement I needed this morning, someone having the confidence in my ability to try something new. Well, now you know... I'm going to have to try this! Thanks, Julie, for the encouragement!
Needing~
I stopped by one of the "big box" fabric chain stores this week, I had a 50% off coupon and I needed a basic notion. It was there that I overheard the following conversation, if ever there was a need for encouragement it was in this instance. I wasn't in a position to comment, you'll understand; read on:
Little girl (age: 7 or so) to Mom (holding a pattern envelope): "Is there a dress in there"?
Mom: "No, only papers".
Little girl: "What kind of papers"?
Mom: "Paper pattern pieces, I'll make your dress from the pattern pieces. I need to cut it out".
Little girl: "How do you do that? Can I help"?
Mom: "No, it's for grown-ups".
Little girl: "Oh".
I hope this little girl will persist and ask the question again. They're both, Mom and daughter, missing out if she doesn't. Oh, how I hope and pray that my grandchildren will ask me to show them how to sew!
Life is Good!
11 comments:
The free pieced letters are really fun to do, Mrs. G. I've used them in the border of a Halloween quilt.
What beautiful quilting on that table runner. WOW! I was talking with a lady today about making a quilt. She has a jelly roll and a pattern, but she's afraid to try. The more I tried to encourage her the more reasons she came up with why she couldn't do it. Sometimes it's hard to encourage someone.
Note to file: the letters shown on my design wall were made by Lynne (not me - must give credit where credit is due, after all).
That aside - I cannot agree with you more about the need to acknowledge encouragement and to ENCOURAGE more of it . . . so many of us are worn down by "the system" and our "day jobs" - blogging friends are a WELCOME joy.
A woman in our guild runs an open sewing session at a community art center one Friday night a month. She brings tubs and tubs of fabric strips and a pile of pre-cut muslin squares & encourages everyone to learn how to string piece. You can't really make a mistake, the fabrics are free, and the results are fabulous, especially with the more experienced quilters cheering the newbies on. One success story was a young woman who had her husband's grandmothers old Featherweight -- and man, it was "well loved" but not necessarily well cared for. She was terrified to use it because she thought she might break it or somehow cause fabric Armageddon. We cheered her on, encouraged her and praised almost every strip she sewed. 6 blocks she had at the end of the night!! SIX BLOCKS. And she came back the next month.
I want to encourage you to sew with your grandchildren when the opportunity comes. I have 5 grands and the oldest (now 10) made her first quilt top by age 3 sitting in my lap putting every piece of fabric through the machine, then I quilted and bound it. I have a large box of various squares and she picked all pinks--surprise! The next 2 are boys and they made their quilts about age 5-6 and LOVE to operate the machine (Bernina 440QE.) The last 2 are 3 and 4 and have been sewing on my lap getting used to the machine. I also have a Janome Little Gem and the older 3 can now sit at a low table and operate it on their own learning to coordinate foot with hands. Besides quilts, they have made tote bags, simple shirts or dresses for favorite stuffies. small pillows, pot holders, etc. I have been sewing for about 50 years and love it. I want to always let them sew SOMETHING when they ask and hope they will remember our times of sewing together.
I whole-heartedly agree with all said here--in your post and in the comments.
This makes me think of an experience I had on our recent trip. In the first airport the staff were very helpful. In the second airport I felt that three of the four airline employees I spoke with would just as soon have bitten my head off as answer me. At the third airport we were at our gate quite early and observed the airline employees as they came on duty to prepare for us to board. One young woman in particular was so kind and attentive to everyone who came to her with a question or problem. Never seemed irritated or put out, even when others were abrupt with her. As I was boarding I softly told her I had been watching her and was impressed with the way she treated all passengers. The grin on her face as she thanked me spoke volumes. We are very quick to complain when we aren't happy with the service we receive, but how often do we take the time to let someone know that their efforts to do things right are truly appreciated?
Thanks so much Debbie!
I think you will have fun with the free pieced letters, I know I did. That poor little girl, how sad. I made my first garment in 3rd grade....
An interesting experiment is to look around in your life, and in your history, and see who the encouragers are for you. I find I remember the ones who encouraged me along the way, but have forgotten those who didn't. I want to be an encourager! Blessings, Marlene
Though provoking as usual. I look forward to your posts you show a caring and joyful way of living. Thank you. Pat
I enjoyed reading this post. Laura does amazing work.
I want to be an encourager too. Always having good words come out of my mouth. thanks for this post.
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