By Hand Plus Love Equals Peace

The headlines scream it............people say it...........and we practice it – Face it folks we ARE a “disposable society”. If you don't believe it then just take a little shopping trip and look around, better yet take a tour of your local dumpster or landfill (IF you can even go to your landfill!). Everything today seems to be made to throw away and we compound the problem by tossing things out. We are in a time where it is many times cheaper to replace something then it is to fix it.

Heck depending on how much your computer printer cost – it is cheaper to buy a new one then to replace both ink cartridges! :(

In my opinion there is another scary side affect of our disposable society...........While we seem to value more the beauty and originality of something that is made by hand there are fewer and fewer people have the ability or take the time to create these works.

I had a cousin (forgive me, he died long before I was born and I can't remember his name) who was well over six feet tall in an age where that was rare. One day he got tired of chairs that were to short for him and his feet hanging off the bed so he decided to make his own furniture. There are still pieces of his furniture scattered through the family and each piece is treasured.

Do you eat at a table that you purchased on sale? Or do you eat at a table that you cut the boards for, that you sanded and polished? Which table feels more like home?

I can remember wearing my first “store bought” dress to school. We were not what you considered poor, I was just lucky enough to have a mother and a grandmother who could have made a living sewing for the public. Lol, my dad used to call my mom Peggy Pattern! She would go window shopping, see an outfit that she liked...........go to the fabric store, come home, spread out newspapers to cut her pattern, and in a day or two she had that outfit made!

Do you go through your closet and toss out things that you bought just a few months ago because you are tired of it? Or do you go through your closet and think about doing that handwork while watching TV with the kids?

My Granny, Chessie Emilie James Bailey, began quilting when she first married. Her mother-in-law told her that if she made a quilt a year her family would never be cold at night. All of her quilts were “scrap quilts”, lol, I can remember getting so excited when I would see one of her quilts and spot material from one of my own outfits! It was like a treasure hunt! I still sleep under her quilts, and even though she has been gone over 20 years she is still keeping her grand baby warm.

Do you crawl into bed and turn up the electric blanket? Or do you snuggle under those quilts and let out that sigh of comfort as the warmth begins to surround you?

Make it by hand, make it with love, and there is a Peace to a part of your day – everyday...........................and Peace is only disposable if you let it be.