45

By Sally Giles. Wynn Vale, SA

As I looked at the triangle of fabric, I measured its angle and it was 45 degrees. All the angles which should be 45 degrees must be exactly 45 degrees or they will not sew together correctly. Small mistakes amplify as you go along sewing a quilt. I absolutely love the cutting up of fabric and creating a quilt. The colours, the fabrics, and the overall look of the quilt on the bed when it is completed warms my heart and soothes my soul.

Cutting 45-degree angles out of fabric squares absolutely thrills me! Getting the angles straight and the corners sharp are terrific challenges. Placing all the fabric pieces together in a cohesive pattern takes time, contemplation, and clever design. The colours must blend and be sympathetic to each other. Is it any wonder that women all over the world love their quilting? The softness of the fabrics, the gentleness of the sewing, and the peacefulness of the process are intoxicating.

In our busy lives, we seem to have lost the appreciation of slow crafts. Everything is instant, disposable, and falls to bits as soon as you get it. Women everywhere have lost the ability to sit, sew and create. We are all urged to be busy, make money, consume, and stay on the treadmill in general. To be able to sit and crochet, sew, or knit are life skills which are derided, laughed at and mocked. People who say, oh, I would never have the patience for that, or I can’t thread a needle are missing out on one of life’s joys. To create a beautiful, useful quilt is a wonderful, soothing thing to do. And something anyone can learn and master given some time and patience.

Quilts are the original ‘recycling’, as initially, quilts were made out of worn-out shirts, dresses and bedding. So in these days of disposable everything and instant fashion made in overseas sweatshops, a quilt stands proud as being good for the planet as well as good for the person who uses the quilt, and good for the person who creates it.

At some point in one’s quilting life, one runs out of people to make quilts for amongst family and friends. The walls and beds in your own home are adorned with masterpieces. And at this point, you join a charity sewing group. There are dozens of these groups all over Australia. There are specific groups whose members make quilts and laundry bags for Australian soldiers serving overseas, sending a warm, useful item to those serving our country in difficult places, a long way from home. And there are other groups whose members make quilts for survivors escaping domestic violence, homeless people, children removed from their parents and going into foster care, and premature and stillborn babies.

Recently, the group I attend has been donating quilts to cheer up residents in a nursing home in an impoverished, low socio-economic area. Patients arrive with very few possessions or anything to provide any comfort. Having a beautifully-made quilt on your bed in your room can hopefully bring some cheeriness at a tough time.

The fabric to create the quilts is donated by people who sew and who have stopped sewing due to age, infirmity or downsizing. The quilts are beautifully-made and are given to others with no judgement or cost. They’re just loving gifts that say, you are not forgotten or dismissed. We think of you in your difficulty and offer a gift of love and thoughtfulness which will keep you warm.

I’ve become great friends with other women in the quilting group. We regularly spend time together, share life’s trials and tribulations, support and encourage each other, and help disadvantaged people who are at challenging times in their lives.