Over the years I have made many quilts. Like fellow quilt-makers I worry that recipients want to lock them away and only bring them out “for best”. They don’t want to spoil them or cause damage to this carefully crafted item knowing how many hours it has taken to produce this work of art. However, we quilt makers want them to be used & enjoyed!
In response to this, Rebecca Preen composed this poem to go with her gifts:
Love me, because I was made to be loved,
Let my fabric be part of the fabric of your lives,
Let me wrap you in my love,
Let me snuggle you when you are cold.
Let me comfort you when you are upset,
Let me be with you as you live your life.
Don’t curse the dog when he redecorates me with mud,
I want to love him too.
I have my faults,
My stitches are not even.
I have ripples and not all my points meet.
Some bits are just plain wonky.
But I will still keep you warm.
Don’t hide me away.
Bless me with part of your life.
100 years from now, I will be frayed,
Worn with stitches missing.
But I will have lived with you and seen life,
Not been a prisoner of a dark space,
Never unfurled,
Never soaked up a tear,
Never shared a special day.
If my stitches break, they can be re-sewn.
If my fabric frays or the dog chews me, I can be repaired.
In the meantime, it’ll add to my character.
If I get dirty, you can wash me.
And when I really am old, with stitches broken,
Threads frayed and unravelled,
Scarred by life, like laughter lines on a wrinkled face,
People will still admire me,
As a quilt that has lived.
And when I am really old and frail,
You can cuddle me and treat me with respect.
But now I am young
And I want to live.
It occurred to me that this poem could also be about ourselves, with a plea from God to put our lives to good use, make the most of our time on earth, and do good. Like the quilt, we’ll get our hands dirty, “scarred by life”. If we’re broken, we can be repaired. Wrinkled & old we can still be admired. We were made to be loved.