Quiting Bee

A hobby I've picked up since moving back to the midwest - which shocked me as much as it might you - is quilting. I've never been much of a quilter. In fact, I've never really gotten over an inate fear of the sewing machine, which, like almost anything more mechanical than a #2 pencil, intimidates me. During the two-month period we were stranded at my parents' home, however, quilting was one of the few things that kept me from hitch-hiking back to the west coast. My work transfer took almost a month to process, so, instead of slinging coffee, I stitched fabric. Often it was tedious, but in the end I had a beautiful crib quilt to give some friends of ours who were expecting - so it was worth it.

Now I've taken on another quilting project, but upon finding that I was a little strapped for time, I decided to have a bunch of Mennonite women over to help me out - an old-fashioned quilting bee, so to speak. It was a good excuse to invite friends over to see our house as well as a great way to jumpstart the quilt. Of course, I fixed a spread of food so we could all have some sustenance during our sewing - we all know what a cardio work out the ole needle and thread are.

I tried to stick with recipes that are relatively simple and that I've used before, so I wouldn't stress too much over the food (believe me, getting the quilt set up and ready to go was enough stress - esp. when I discovered the day before that I had underestimated the amount of fabric I needed for the back and had to make an emergency run to the quilt shop). The big hit was the chicken salad sandwiches I made drawing heavily from LC's curried chicken salad recipe from Pgh. From MCC:FFR, I fixed Banana Bread, pg. 12 , which is really something you can't go wrong with. I cut it into small pieces and served it with whipped cream cheese and homemade strawberry jam (another project from this summer). Also featured were some of the leftover Chocolate Drop cookies I pulled from the freezer (sorry Jodi, never got around to sending you any!). I haven't ever been huge on freezing food and using it later, so the idea of eating cookies from a month ago was new and exciting - and of course, very Mennonite.

The whole experience of sitting around a quilting frame with a group of women felt right. Even though my stitches are large and awkward and it takes me forever to tie a knot; even though I'm not quite comfortable with the whole religious and cultural package, there is something deeply rewarding about being part of a community.