Many of my quilts are quilted on a machine, but I also enjoy hand quilting. It forces you to slow down, and when you get in a rhythm, hand quilting allows your mind to wander into its creative places . You can also listen to TV while you hand quilt so you can feel good about multi-tasking. Listening to all the bad news lately about the economy made me realize that there are similarities between hand quilting and the economy.
When you hand quilt, you have to “feel the needle.” This is a delicate way of saying that with every stitch, you have to prick yourself. It is painful and after a while a callous develops. At the end of the process, however, you have a priceless, one-of-a-kind creation that brings you and others great joy.
Hopefully, so goes the economy. It is quite painful right now, but maybe after the pain, we will emerge richer for having gone through the pain.
African Starry Night, shown here, was hand quilted. Last month it was on display in a DeKalb County Library. I hope it brought others joy.
African Starry Night, 63 x 79 inches, 2006
O.V. Brantley Quilt Studio 