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I hope you enjoy this edition of Tallgrass & Tumbleweeds, USE YOUR QUILTS:
For your free pdf copy of Alice Walker’s short story, click here
And I’d love to hear your feedback on both PikeX audio and TNT—please comment here or email me at grp@coyotewebsynergy.com
I hope you enjoy listening (or reading!)
USE YOUR QUILTS:
PikeX Fireside Chat (only available here on Substack)
Hey Subscribers, supporters and guests. Hello to all of you listening today.
As many of you know, Tallgrass & Tumbleweeds, is available in 20 KS newspapers.
What you may not know is that TNT (yes, that’s what I it—sometimes I do so because I’m too lazy or in too much hurry to type out or say it’s full name but mostly I call it TNT because the last thing my syndicated column could be considered is explosive)
…Um, where was I. Oh, yes! What you may NOT know about is that TNT print editions are contractually limited to 500 words, a constraint which is literary double-edged sword. I am not sure I would have honed on my own the ability to trim “word fat” and that’s benefited both my written and interpersonal communication skills. But no matter how pithy I am with words, it often seems like I run out of space. This week’s TNT on quilts is a perfect example because for every sentence I wrote, I could have written another 10…or 20 more.
I find quilts, quilting, and Quilters all fascinating topics and I would hope at some later date, I have the opportunity to explore them in greater depth. But today, I’m just going to tell you three things I wish I could have included in this TNT.
Every time I see an ad for “weighted blankets” or a friend tells me that these things really work, I get tickled. That’s because I have a vivid memory from back in the 70s, when I tried to sleep under a quilt pieced from worn-out jeans and stuffed with old pantyhose. Now that was heavy. Warm, yes. Comfortable, no. Good night’s sleep? I didn’t sleep a wink, nor did I stand it on top of me for long.
Though I did write about the first Quilter I ever met, I did not have space to talk about her sewing room or the first time I set foot in it, an experience that left a lifelong lifelong impression. I see it right now if I close my eyes—the organization, the order and the array of bright silky, jewel tone fabrics.
I was and am to this day powerfully affected by Alice Walker’s elegantly written short story, Everyday Use. It shook my world when I read it. And I remember thinking, I want to write LIKE THAT, in a way that hits on all mental and emotional cylinders. I still want to write like that. I could go on and on but if you haven’t yet, you SHOULD just read it for yourself.
But please don’t click the link I included in this Substack just yet. Stay and listen to this week’s TNT…
Use Your Quilts
(Syndicated Tallgrass & Tumbleweeds published throughout KS 10/14-19/2023)
Dear Readers,
One of my favorite quilts will never hang in a museum but I treasure its flawed and humble appearance every morning. As I trace the lines my fingertips tingle, meeting the hand that made this patchwork quilt so long ago with just a thimble, a needle and some thread. Its design gives the impression that it was put together in a careless manner. The unevenly sized “approximately 2 inch” cotton squares, cut from no longer usable baby clothes, tablecloths, blouses and men’s work shirts result in an awkward mix of solids, stripes, polka dots, ginghams and florals. But the stitching which has for the most part withstood every use for fifty years exhibits skill and deliberateness, resolve and will.
Growing up I slept, same as everybody I knew, under quilts made by the women in our lives. I cared not whether the patterns were simple or elaborate, nor did I appreciate the labor involved. Quilts kept me toasty warm through long cold Western Kansas nights. I had no inkling quilting was an art until my third year in college when I became acquainted with both a “Quilter” and Alice Walker’s short story “Everyday Use.”
Betsy Harden, a dear and most talented college friend, had an equally gifted artistic mother, Mary Beth, who quilted breath-takingly, stunning creations. I remain in awe of her eye and skill for transforming bolts of cloth into art and redefined my notion of “sewing.” I was inspired by and greatly admired Mrs. Harden’s work. But until I read Walker’s fiction, I did not appreciate that the women who raised me were Quilters, too.
I highly recommend Walker’s story as I cannot do it justice. But in summary it explores how generations of women are stitched together with quilts, blanketing both creativity and the demands of the real world. And I believe this tale argues that the best way to honor this legacy is by using quilts every day.
I made a baby quilt by hand once, and by the time it was finished I swore I would never make another. My hands cramped and my fingers bled before I tied off the last thread. But with every stitch, I thought of the child it would swaddle, yet to be born, and all the love surrounding her glowing with our hopes for her life ahead. She’s a grown accomplished woman these days and though I’ve no idea what became of that blanket I like to think it’s not hanging on some wall but that it’s being used, that a child is wrapped in it somewhere.
I should take a up a needle again, though, to mend a few splits and tears on this beloved quilt of mine. But my preservation of tradition must wait because all three cats are, irrespective of its art, napping on my bed. What do I expect? They are not allowed in museums because these felines will sleep on anything.
Until next week—keep your eyes on the stars and your back to the wind.