Last weekend I went to the Oklahoma Steam Engine Show in Pawnee, OK. Before you click away, this post is NOT about steam engines, it's about quilts! I headed off to the craft buildings, and found one full of quilt displays. In the back were a couple of very nice women demonstrating weaving and other fiber arts.
Soon one woman took center stage, and began to tell wonderful stories about her years of making quilts. As she spoke she laid her beautiful creations on a large quilt stand next to her...the variety of colors and shapes and sizes was breathtaking.
She told about receiving a large gift of material from an elderly lady who was going into a retirement center. They didn't know each other, but through a mutual acquaintance they connected, and she ended up with 5 horse trailer loads of boxed pieces, and then some!
The material spanned the decades, some from the 1910's, 20's, the 40's, the 60's and 70's...each era had color characteristics which reflected the mood of the age. She occasionally apologized because some of the quilt pieces were uneven or had some type of flaw due to the material. I remember thinking, "but that gives the quilt a special character!"
I also thought, people are the same way...when I think of my friends and the people I know and love, I don't think "so-and-so is so absolutely perfect, they just look so beautiful"! Instead I think of the little things that make them different from all the "quilt squares" around them, the things that give them special character.
The quilt lady was Elda Martens, a Mennonite woman who, along with her husband, has been traveling for many years sharing her love of quilting and her love of Christ. As she concluded her time of sharing, she also told us that this would be her last program. I was so thrilled to have heard her speak, she is a true Oklahoma treasure. I also want to share some of the beautiful quilts I saw that day...look at these and think of the people in your life, so different, so beautiful, all unique and special.
