Quilting, Pie Making, and Other Everyday Meditations

I have a lot of hobbies. More than I should. Two of my favorites are quilting and pie making. I recently came across some adorable strawberry fabric and started down the road of combining my passions for quilting and pies. The first item to come out of this fusion is a pie cozy, meant to look like a strawberry pie. It's even reversible to accommodate larger pie pans.




















The process of making this cozy made me really hungry. It also made me think about some of the commonalities between quilting and pie making. Aside from being associated with the home and "women's work," there are several other commonalities worthy of note.

The first commonality is that they both take patience. Given this, they are actually pretty unlikely passions for someone like me. Someone with so little patience that my childhood was filled with my dad repeating, "patience is a virtue, my child" as I fumed. Even though I have been sewing and baking since I was very young, it took me until my mid-twenties to even attempt quilts or pies. By about 25 (which is actually when scientists think we become true adults), I finally felt willing to slow down, complete each step, and breathe through the frustration.

The second commonality is that taking the time to complete each step fully and accurately can be a form of meditation. Years ago I read about the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh's thoughts about calligraphy. He believes that the practice of calligraphy forces one to be completely in the moment. It takes concentration, attention to detail, and full bodily immersion. Quilting and pie making are similar to calligraphy in the need to slow down and be present. A growing body of research shows that activities like this reduce stress through slowing respiration and heart rate.

The third commonality is that because quilting and pie making are so precise, it is difficult to make them perfect. This was one of the reasons I first avoided quilting. I would try piecing something simple and it didn't line up exactly and I would get so mad. My first couple of pies were like this too. I would roll the crust to almost the perfect size and then the dough would tear. Many people have told me that they don't even want to try quilting because they know they will never get it perfect. Unfortunately, I see this kind of mentality in my academic life as well. It's heartbreaking to see people with passion and ideas feel paralyzed by trying to make things perfect.

The final thing quilting and pie making have in common is that even though most quilts and pies not perfect, they are still well loved. In fact, one of my most recent quilts was so simple and still had mistakes. It was just a bunch of blocks sewn together in a random pattern, and then I practiced my machine quilting on it. Not all of the blocks line up and the quilting is inconsistent, poorly aligned, and shows where I messed up and had to start over. But a person I love saw it and immediately asked to have it. She didn't see the mistakes. She just felt the love, and that's what matters. It's the same with a homemade pie. The people who matter most in your life are not thinking about the crack in your crust, or the filling that peeks out and burns down the side. They are appreciating the love and time you've put into making something special.

In sum, quilting and pie making bring out the best in us as individuals and communities. If you're afraid of either, here is my advice. Be gentle with yourself. Enjoy the process. Share the love. Keep practicing.



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