Checking In

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Yet here we are. Charles Dickens was/is spot on. Political discussion aside/avoided, how are you? How are we? I was thinking about my own response to these dramatic days of current events/history-in-the-making. When I’m being told that my country is experiencing unprecedented tumult and unrest, I look to the past to gain perspective. It helps me keep calm and carry on.

I marvel that, along with rolling bandages and knitting socks, Civil War era women could stitch beautiful heirloom quilts while their country was being torn in two. I imagine they poured all that worry and nervous energy into their work, all the while praying for their loved ones in battles far away.

I’m kind of copying the “Dear Jane” (Jane Stickles) with my Bible Sampler Quilt project.

In the corner patch she signs her quilt, “In War Time. 1863. Pieces 5602. Jane A. Stickle.”

So so much in those few few words. In that year of 1863 Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. He also delivered the Gettysburg Address, where that horrible battle took place in that very same year. Throughout those terrible months, Jane stitched and stitched and prayed and prayed. She kept calm and carried on.

Well, I don’t have anything else to say, I just thought I’d check in since it’s been awhile since my last post. A lot has happened since then. I’m not sharing a block from the Bible Sampler quilt project today, but here’s a peek at my progress: