Friday, April 7, 2017

Color Wheel of Emotions

I know several planners, doctors, engineers, and now quilters.  And I have decided that quilters are the best people - even when you have not met them.  Once you meet them, it only gets better.



This blogpost is about three quilters.

1. GrammaBabs - Her name is Barbara and she lives in Massachusetts.  We know each other through the M* quilting forum. Therefore it came as a surprise to me when she asked me the following:

"is that little baby here yet??? Just wondering... can't wait to send something for HE or SHE...:))"

GrammaBabs was asking about Harry and Sally's baby.  When I told her that Leah was born on February 23, 2017, she sent me the loveliest little pink sweater.


Leah is the new-born daughter of Harry (and Sally) who is the brother of my friend Manveen.  I have met Harry only thrice. Have not met Leah yet. Of course GrammaBabs has not met anyone - not even me. So what prompted her to make something for Leah? A quilters heart!!!


2. Sylvia - Also met Sylvia on the M* quilting forum. We have met a few times. I try to meet with her whenever I travel to Pennsylvania.


Sometimes our schedules do not match up. So when I saw her this time, it had been about six months. Sylvia had been dealing with some stuff, which meant little sewing and no fabric shopping. Come time for our rendezvous, she raided her stash to find the loudest, brightest, wildly happiest fat quarter. For me. Guess, my reputation precedes me.




We devoured chips and guacamole, talked about politics and other taboo topics (yes those ones), and split a flan :-)




3. Mari - Mari is the quilter/blogger who blogs at Academic Quilter. She has supported and comforted me with her wise words. We think alike in several ways but then our fabric choices are markedly different. That works, because I'd hate to battle over a bolt with Mari. We agreed to meet at the AQS show in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.



Lots and lots of eye candy at the show. Mostly awe-inspiring.


So many times we squinted our eyes - how did she do that?


This quilt was my favorite. It was so festive and reminded me of bridal outfits from India.



But that was before I saw this one. 


I saw the tear in her eye. Mari noticed the churn dash blocks in the background, even when they were faded. That is when I noticed the words on each of the scales. I got goosebumps.

Respect, Generosity, Kindness, Service, Tolerance, Love, Compassion, Responsibility

Just then another viewer was trying to read the words, but it was hard. The text was subtle and we were behind the rope.  So, I took a picture on my phone and zoomed in.  As I read aloud the words, on both scales (for the viewer's benefit), I felt hot tears roll down my cheeks.

Anger, Incivility, Selfishness, Greed, Intolerance, Fear, Hate, Willfulness

At that moment, we all knew. No more words were required. Mari hugged me.
The viewer tried to comfort me - "Oh there are more of us than them."  And I knew, in my heart, that we will be fine. Eventually.

With such an amazing community of creators, who feel so deeply, think so freely and give so selflessly, how can we not?

We ended the evening with a fabric shopping spree at Mook Fabric Store.



Wish I had taken pictures in the store.  But I was so bewildered by the bolts and the low prices.


Remnants were $3.99 per yard. Oh, I bought more fabric than this, but let's save that for the next Sunday Stash.



I came home to the April Honey Pot Bee and there it was - more inspiration, colors, fabric and pattern.  Here is my interpretation of the Stripey Stripe Block.




The Starry Sky Block required paper piecing. UGH!!! I printed out templates and followed the instructions. Mostly.





And yes, there was waste - both paper and fabric waste.



In just one weekend, I experienced enough joy, sadness, hope, excitement, inspiration, kindness and comfort to last me the entire month - a whole color wheel of emotions. I think that is April's goal accomplished.

Do I have a quilty goal for April?  May be I will finish a quilt or two. There are at least two scrap vortex quilts in the making.



Linking with April OMG at Elm Street Quilts and all my favorite linky parties. As always, I'd love to hear about your emotional experiences.





31 comments:

  1. Quilters are the best people! I have discovered that on more than one occasion. Such a supportive, selfless, friendly group. You are lucky to be able to meet with a few quilty friends in person. Thanks for sharing the amazing quilts you saw at the show.

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  2. Lovely post. Quilters are very special indeed.

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  3. It was nice that you could meet up with some of your quilty friends in person. Love your fabric finds and your paper piecing block looks great.

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  4. Great selection of projects. (And, yes, quilters are the best!) Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck on your project although I'm not quite sure what it is!

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  5. Preeti, you are too kind! I had a great time. Let's go shopping again and not fight over more fabric! Love the stars!

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  6. Your posts always tell a story and they always make me happy. You are a kind and gentle soul.

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  7. Preeti, sharing your experience must have been difficult, especially while your feelings are still raw. This just shows how kind and generous you are. Thank you for sharing with us and for giving us a glimpse into that gentle soul that Bernie mentioned.

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  8. Thanks for sharing your experience and quilt pictures. Love your Starry Sky Block - appears you are getting reaaaly good at paperpiecing.

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  9. I agree, quilters are the best people. The quilts from the show are amazing, especially Lady Liberty. Good luck with your April goals.

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  10. Oh Preeti! I love your writing! There are many people who are kind and the best, but none quite as much as a fellow quilter!

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  11. I enjoyed your whole post, but have to comment on the Starry Skies quilt block, because I love it! So interesting and different from most star blocks. That is the thing about paper-piecing - you can make things that you couldn't do any other way. So hopefully you feel it was worth it!

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  12. Love this post… I agree - I love the quilting community. Thank you for sharing the details about scales - they are incredibly moving messages. And somewhat terrifying.

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  13. Such lovely words, meeting with lovely generous people. I do enjoy your writing.

    Jenny from New Zealand - do you know where that is?

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  14. I very much enjoyed getting to know you and your quilting friends a little reading your post. The elongated points on the star are wonderful. The scrap quilt in progress is a colorful treat for the eyes. Thanks for sharing on Sunday Stash ... :) Pat

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  15. I agree, Quilters are the best! Many of them are wordsmiths like you. Thanks for this post and all the color, joy, and thought.

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  16. I am honored to have been mentioned in your posting.... LOVE to read them...Beautiful and thought provoking "Liberty" quilt.. we all should stop and think about such things more...That star is wonderful,,might just find myself giving that one a whirl:)) GrammaBabs

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  17. Your work is so beautiful. I love that you broke the rules on the Starry Sky block to make it more enjoyable for yourself, you did it perfectly. Thank you for making my block, it means so much to see it being made by others. My goal for April is to finish my Sweet Treats quilt along quilt so that I can rest in the month of May while we wait for baby girl.

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  18. Quilters are a special group. The generosity and kindness of quilters amazes me. I love your star block and the quilting inspiration from the quilt show is wonderful.

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  19. Hi Preeti, I just discovered your blog and thoroughly enjoyed reading everything, all of the notes to see the details (like the hidden churn dashes,) and great photos.. such a nice slice of your life. The star block is my favorite.

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  20. It is great meeting your online buddies in real life. I had those Starry Sky blocks set in one of my bees - I'm not that keen on paper piecing but I do love those blocks. Thanks for linking up to #scraptastictuesday

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  21. You are absolutely correct, quilters are the best. I love and cherish our online quilting community so much. How awesome that you got me meet up with Mari and Sylvia. I'm hoping we can meet up someday, you aren't too far away from me. Your Honey Pot blocks look great.

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  22. Preeti you are so open and honest and you say what is in your heart. You are one of the best.

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  23. You're right ... quilty peeps are the best :)

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  24. I always love your posts because you put so much of your heart into them. Thank you for sharing the pictures of the beautiful quilts and the beautiful quilters . That baby sweater is to die for as well. The Statue of Liberty quilt is so wonderful with its subtle (visually) message and your blocks are wonderful as well. Here's hoping things will get better.

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  25. Love your scrap vortex blocks!
    Your writing about the quilts was so inspiring and heartfelt... thank you for sharing!

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  26. I am a new follower of your blog. I found you on Crazy Mom Quilts, Finish It Up Fridays. Love you happy quilts! Just had to note, that baby Leah and I share a birthday! I got goosebumps too, looking at the Lady Liberty quilt! Wonderful.

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  27. So wonderful to meet up with distant quilty friends - they are the best! Thanks for sharing your progress on the scrap vortex!

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  28. Scrap quilts are my favorite....love looking at all the beautiful quilts you have shared!

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  29. I'm thankful that you linked to Quilt Fabrication, too. That's where I saw your vortex. It may prod me to work on my half-finished one again, too! What wonderful friends you have made in the quilting world - oh, yes, the best people! Your bee blocks are awesome! Thanks for sharing the quilts from the Lancaster show - very inspiring in many ways. I don't know if there are "more of us than them", but I do know we are stronger and will keep growing in numbers.

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  30. What a lovely post! I'm adding your blog to my list of favorites, so I will be stopping by more often. I'm happy the positive flower on the scales is a sunflower (although I like thistles, too, to be honest) because my bridal bouquet was sunflowers. And I'm not entirely sure the scales are tipped correctly on the quilt ... we mustn't despair, but keep spreading the love! I try to limit my media-exposure, and find that when I look at the world and the people around me directly, instead of through the TV, that there is A LOT of good to be seen (and I work in a free clinic as a GP, so I see a lot of suffering, too).

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  31. I always love seeing your use of bright and cheery fabrics. (Those fish are too cute!)

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