Oh what a year! And it’s almost done. It’s time for looking back and looking forward. What do you need to say as we leave 2020 behind and embrace 2021? 

Earlier I shared my story from Never Easy to After the Rain. Have you struggled through a challenging year, or do you know someone who had a particularly tough 2020?  In January and February I’ll be leading the After the Rain sew-along. This is a straightforward machine foundation paper pieced quilt. It goes together quickly and precisely. The challenge is not so much in the sewing itself, but in exploring the potential meaning within the process. This meaning will come through in your choices of colors and fabrics and in your heart and mind as you meditatively sew.

You might make the quilt for yourself, for your son or daughter, for that friend who’s lost a job or lost a loved one, for someone who is isolated by the shutdown or working way too many hours, for the ones made yet more vulnerable by this pandemic, for a neighbor or coworker or teacher or nurse. After all a quilt is a long-distance hug. We’re lucky to have this super power.

Can you make a quilt that acknowledges the struggle?

Can you use colors that don’t shy away from the pain?

Can you sew solidarity? Show that you see and stand alongside, though from afar?

And yet, will you declare your faith that the sun will shine again, after the rain?

For me, the After the Rain quilt is an acknowledgement of life’s sorrow, while also a statement of hope and courage. The light does overcome the darkness. Where there is life, there can be love. Maybe it’s a stretch to think that you can experience it that way too. Still, I know that processing feeling through art can be so healing. I hope that for many of you this sew-along will be a gift to yourself, grounding and hopeful. Perhaps also a gift you can extend to another.

I’ll be making my new After the Rain quilt for a friend who’s living with long-haul Covid. She’s granted me permission to share some of her story in upcoming posts as we discuss choosing colors and fabrics that tell a story.

If you’ll be joining us for the sew-along, I encourage you to set an intention now for your quilt. Who is it for? What is it about? What might you say through these stitches?

The After the Rain sew-along will kick off next Monday, with the pattern release, schedule and such. We start sewing at the end of January, so there’s no rush. Let’s begin now with soft and open hearts.

I look forward to setting out with courage together.