This has been an exciting week back, well five days. It’s always good to get home from a trip, nest with my stuff, rearrange and revisit projects and possibilities.
We did the usual re-hanging of quilts, in new spots, and sorting of fabrics, promotional discounting, cutting, stitching, teaching, greeting of customers – lots of newbies this week ( we love that our network continues to expand .)
(Breath)
Our plans for helping the Chinese Orphanages grows exponentially. A quiet mention of the idea has more individuals and an entire class of young volunteers committing to the project. Here is an excerpt of an email I received from PL upon returning with her new baby.
“…the SWI director decided to hang (the quilt I sent with P) on the wall, so all the
children could see and touch it. It is currently the only source of
visual and tactile stimulation for these kids, which is so needed…The
orphanage walls are bare, but this quilt brightens up the area. You
know, Roxanne, you handed me the quilt, which was one of the many
beautiful ones you have, as a gesture of generosity. I don’t think
either one of us could have ever imagined the magnitude of its worth to
these people. Just amazing. You made a lot of people happy!”
This is a hard act to follow, but we also received a generous donation of fabric and a sewing machine which will go to Community Service Club of New Fairfield, Healing Hands Quilters. I think the end of summer is a call to organize our lives for the coming season. These gifts were from two separate sources, both this week.
Finally, as the Quilter’s Alley was closing for one of our few remaining 2-day weekends ( we reopen on Sunday from 11-3 after Labor Day), we were graced with a visit from Sheila Hicks, weaver (and her friend, Joyce). I recognized her as someone who had been to our shop a few months earlier by her enormous smile. Her smile is like a hug that laps you into her energy. Never has anyone complimented my needle selection with such joy. It is so precious to be around people who revel in such simple beauty. From a case in her purse, like treasures, she pulled out the scissor I sold her last time and a graceful latch-hook tool that she uses to pull threads through the weaving ends. As the interaction unfolded, we were on the metallic threads, ribbons and anything I might have for her minature weavings, Paris studio (?) website? Before long, we circled Stu’s computer screen to see the amazing work she has produced over the last 40 years, all over the world. Wow! I feel so lucky!
Ideas in Cloth 