Gray hair. Love it or hate it it’s inevitable. We all will have some sooner or later. I would like to take some time to state my case in FAVOR of the lonesome little gray hair. The poor little things are hated, feared, ripped out and hidden. I remember when I was a younger, hearing woman of all ages talks of their gray hair as if they were a disease. It was similar to turning the “dreaded” thirty. I personally enjoyed my thirties and am whooping and hollering over the forties. It just keeps getting better.
Throughout history the little gray hair has been viewed as wisdom. A place of honor was bestowed upon the woman with the long well kept gray hair. She was revered as having earned her right to not be questioned… I frankly am still waiting for that day when the epiphany happens and I know without a doubt that I have something called “wisdom”. Start your giggling now. Logically, I know it just never happens, but hey, a girl can dream.
Let’s also throw in the image of being a quilter. That little bit always gets rave reviews. Combine the quilting and gray hair and folks get all a flutter. The really humorous part most folks never see is Lisa and I at my dining room table, a deadline is looming and more than a few of the little gray darlin’s are popping out of both place and in population. Our latest projects spread out and in various stages of assembly… and then… something goes wrong. Horribly wrong. Points not perfect… the machine has just thrown a shoe and the thread is bunching underneath. The fabric was cut too short. Yes, I measured it LISA. It’s still too short. How much? Oh… about three inches. You sewed your fabrics WRONG side together? HA! Why is this thread NOT cooperating? Oh jiminy Christmas! The seam ripper for Lisa and AH-HA! There’s the fabric I need. I did not cut it wrong… silly thing was hiding from me. (Insert maniacal laughter here) Some how, someway we all get from t he chaos some great fun and believe it or not, some relaxation as well as a quilt that, quirks and all, is absolutely stunning.
I can’t promise your quilting will be any better or worse with the gray. I do think they give us a whole new perspective on life. They add a definition to us that says. “Back off sparkey I didn’t fall off the cabbage truck yesterday.” Or something else much more polite that I just can’t think of at the moment.
I say, enjoy those little gray hairs. Name them if you like, just make sure you hold your head high and exude confidence that you are beautiful and are a quilter. To me, being a quilter is a thing of beauty unto itself. It is a creative art that is second only to the “great masters” of oil painting and even that is a close second. I have never been kept warm by a painting. Our history as humans is written in the very threads of our quilts. Whenever you watch a movie, or read a book about history… think about this… Everybody sleeps. What kept them warm? Why, a quilter did. Gray hairs and all.


New to the website: Moda- Bears just wanna have fun. Red Rooster- Twinkle little star and a popular one we have had in the store for a while... Classic cottons- Muted moments (this one is in the process of being added and is large. keep looking for more)

Have a wonderful weekend,
Diana
www.thequiltingcottage.com