The winter quilts are back on the walls. Although there are no snowdrifts where I live, it is the season for mittens and parkas. There may yet be a winter storm, but regardless I will enjoy them in the warmth of my living room.
One is small, not wide enough to cover a twin bed. I can't
remember how ambitious I felt for its finished size when I downloaded the pattern and started tugging blue fabric from the shelves. I had no idea then of the struggle I was embarking on, or that I would abandon the project twice. But by the time half a dozen blocks were complete I realized that I would not expand the layout. When the top was finally done I counted the pieces, and took some consolation in the large number. It is by no means perfect, but it is
lovely.
Someone once asked how much it would cost.
"You can't afford it."
To a non quilter, that might seem odd. Perhaps they evaluate on the basis of size, and would question the price of such a modest coverlet. The fabric was not high end, and it is machine quilted. But the intricacy of the paper piecing taxed my brain. In other words, it was harder than it
looks.
Another quilt on the walls was part of a block exchange. Twelve women each made a slew of the same design, and then traded. I made snowy stars, which are easy for me. Each of us walked away with the makings of a quilt, but the effort was lessened by that strategy.
Observers would not necessarily know that the first one, the smaller quilt, took six times as long as the larger one. It's price would reflect that. It does not
even necessarily increase its value to someone else. But it does to me.
A friend who was struggling with depression once told me how hard it was simply to slog through the day. Never mind pancakes in the shape of Mickey Mouse, or ribbons in her daughter's hair. Cold cereal was all she could manage, and socks that did not match. The feat of getting out of bed can be easy for one person, and exhausting for another. We can not sense such discrepancies simply by outward
appearances.
But if my friend tells me that it was a really tough day for her, I can believe her.