We are home again after a much needed and restful time away. Our escape began as the sun rose on Sunday morning. We packed all of the necessities on Saturday and hit the road bright and early! We made the 2-hour drive to a quaint little town that we have watched grow over the past 26 years - Westcliffe, CO.
We had friends that introduced us to the Alvarado Campground located in the San Isabel National Forest in 2020. A short time after that they made the move to the Westcliffe area. We have continued to camp at Alvarado over the years, and until this year, we would connect with them (they made a move from Westcliffe to Ecuador last fall). These same friends were the ones that introduced us to the Sangre de Cristo Fellowship.
We will specifically plan our camping trips to the area around an opportunity to attend worship at this church. This was the reason for our early morning departure on Sunday. We arrived ready to worship. And we were not disappointed! The fellowship has grown over the past 3 years that we have visited there. Trust me! If it were feasible (mom is still here and will continue to need increasingly additional assistance) and financially possible... we would move... in a heartbeat! I'm getting a little off track.
Worship... the songs the worship team selects and leads are of a style we really like and well presented... the music is so inviting and welcoming. While Dave and I were worship leaders we would often invite and encourage those at the service to join in and remind them that worship is participatory event. Meaning that you needed to engage and Christ would meet you there. Dave and I have longed for a deep and engaging worship service for months, and it has been a long, dry season.
As one song was sung, the words quickly became a vision in my mind. The song (I don't know the title of the song, or the exact words) was about being baptized in the river... going down dirty in sin and arising washed clean.
In my vision I saw myself beneath the water and the sound of music/worship being muffled and indistinguishable. As I was rising up out of the water with my hands raised far above my head and Jesus drawing me out by my hand into an embrace, the music was beautiful and there were saints all around. Tears were flowing and I felt like I was HOME! Oh, it was a blessed and refreshing time.
Following worship, we drove to the campground and got settled into our favorite campsite, the one with a creek right next to it.
I pulled out my current read, The World's Fair Quilt. I enjoyed the extended time with all of the characters of the book. It has been my "night-time read" for the last several weeks. The story of Sylvia and her sister, Claudia, making their Chain of Progress quilt as an entry in the Sears & Roebuck sponsored competition at the 1933 World's Fair was delightful. These two sisters were only teens and had big dreams of winning big cash prizes that were being offered to the winners.
Without giving away the entire story, I will state that they won the local contest and advanced to the regional judging. Because they won at the local level, they received a check for $10, and their quilt had the honor of being on display for the public to view and enjoy. The entire family made the trip to see the display.
As the family explored the exhibit, Sylvia remembered to "keep her face expressionless" if she passed one she did not care for, because "one never knows if the quiltmaker or her best friend stood nearby, heart sinking at every frown or dismissive word." Her mother had taught her to be courteous at quilt shows, to say aloud nothing that she would not want someone to declare about her own quilt. Those things could be discussed when in private company, away from the public.
What great advice! Suzy Quilts had a great article somewhat related to this topic - Be Kind to Your Quilts. This article has little to do with the care or treatment of a quilt, rather, it encourages us, as quilters making quilts for the sheer enjoyment of creating to be kind rather than critical and pointing out each flaw or mistake... Here are her five points...
*Avoid seeking perfection
*Embrace growth
*Recognize unfair comparisons
*How you talk matters to others
*Be your own cheerleader
While there is a place for constructive critiques when entering a competition, we would do ourselves a favor to be gentle with the criticisms. It is unrealistic to think that "my first quilt is going to be as spectacular as the 100th quilt made by So'n'So." By all means, if you are entering a contest, you should do all you can to make it the very best quilt you have ever made... and bear in mind that the judges' opinions will vary in personal preferences and dislikes... and be open and willing to learn and grow from any comments the judges may offer.
In the story of The World's Fair Quilt, the judges noted that the quilting stitches were inconsistent. This was in part because they were still teens. Yes, they had been taught quilting at very young ages... but their hand-quilting skills still had room for improvement. The other reason for the inconsistent stitches was because their aunts helped them complete the quilting in order to meet the entry deadline.
I've entered one quilt for a contest... I did not win anything, nor did I receive any sort of judges' comments. I do still have the quilt that I designed to reflect a photo that was taken at a niece's wedding. It was a photo of the couple with a full moon reflecting on the water of the Bay in California where their wedding was held. The quilt was amateurish and simply quilted, but it did not diminish the thought and effort that I put into it.
I had this quilt displayed on a wall in my studio for a while and I think of Jessie & Jon (and their two children) whenever I see it. **happy sigh**
I've rambled on enough for today... though I have many more thoughts to share in the coming days. Until then, tell me...
Have you ever been brave enough to enter a quilt competition?
How did you do?
What did you learn?
Leave a comment... I'd love to hear from you.
Keep piecing,
Melva
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