At the last STASHING SISTERS Quilt Retreat, Helen also shared some thoughts about how we look at life and those around us.
Perspective is one things that colors how we see things. Perhaps we need to allow for the idea of a different perspective to give us greater understanding and clarity.
Helen told the following story to illustrate how perspective can expand our views.
Conversation in the Womb – A Parable of Life After Delivery
In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.” “Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and you really listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”
Stashing Sisters Display of Finished Quilts at the 2020 Retreat
It was a quilting retreat not to be forgotten. The setting up of tables, ironing boards, and machines had been well rehearsed from past retreats and all went smoothly. A few stashers came early, others came later in the midnight hours but they came.
This year’s quilt retreat hosted a hoard of stashers. The addition of one extra day provided opportunity for several stashing sisters to bite into their projects early while others arrived as their schedules allowed.
A new Stashing Sister needed a picnic blanket for her active family of 7. Denim has long been a favorite for ground quilts but this one is made from Read the rest of this entry →
There are some things that take time to make. Take for instance the making of bread. The ingredients are quickly mixed together but it takes time for the yeast to grow and develop the little dough rising air pockets. Some breads call for a ‘resting’ time too.
One of my favorite things at a the Quilting Retreat is being with other women who understand me. They are self focused, motivated and don’t require Read the rest of this entry →
The Stashing Sisters Retreat is coming up on March 28-29th.
What do you do at a Quilt Retreat? Obviously something ‘Quilty”. OK, let’s get serious and make a list of priorities. Starting with #10 and then to the hefty #1. . . Read the rest of this entry →
Stashing Sisters 