Quilts and other stuff

To the editor:
    A few years back I decided that I would like to make a quilt. I had never made a quilt before but I had observed that quilting is something that most Maine women seem to do and it looked like it could be an enjoyable hobby. I decided that I would give it a shot.
    I began collecting an array of fabrics and cutting them all up into little pieces. I spent a lot of time on the Internet researching quilting instructions and looking for ideas. For those of you who are interested in taking up this hobby, go to the Internet, where you will find so much information on quilting that it will make your head spin.
    For me, the quilt project was something that I only really have worked on in the wintertime when it is too cold to go out. Believe me, when the weather is good, I head outdoors for yard projects or other outdoor activities.
    As this quilt project has only been a seasonal thing for me I have to say that I have not made a whole lot of progress! Although I would not call myself a “seamstress”, my sewing skills are ok. I am careful and diligent, and somewhat of a perfectionist when it comes to things matching up correctly. Sometimes I get frustrated and out will come my handy-dandy seam ripper. I would seem that no matter how careful I am in making and stitching, sometimes things just don’t match up right.
    I have had some years where I actually end up with less progress than what I started with because I take out sections and toss them in the trash. If things did not look right I would pretty much start over with a different pattern in mind.
    Today as I was sitting in front of my sewing machine, it occurred to me that this quilt was a metaphor for life. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, or how good our intentions are, things just don’t seem to work out. We think that we are on the right path, yet those “seams” just don’t seem to match up. Everything in our world is always changing, nothing will ever stay the same, it is not meant to. Our children grow up, our parents get old. Sometimes relationships don’t seem to be working anymore.
    When we look at our lives and the “patterns” no longer look nice to us, we then need to make the necessary changes. We can design our lives any way that we choose. The important thing is that we have to be happy with what we have constructed. But the choices are limitless! It is actually kind of exciting when you take a step back and realize that it is us, we are in charge of creating our own lives. We design our own quilt, so to speak.
    Several years back I was acquainted with a man who had built a beautiful stone wall around his property. He had mentioned that it was his “20-year wall” as it had taken almost 20 years to complete the project. Well, at the rate I am going it may well take me 20 years to complete this quilt. But you know, I have heard it said many time in regard to life that “it is not about actually reaching your destination, it’s about the journey that we take to get there.”
Gloria Scott
Houlton