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The women in my family have always used needlework to share their Christian faith and love with others. My maternal grandmother, Ella (or “GrandElla,” as I called her), and my mother taught me needlework of all kinds.
As early as I can remember, everything began under the quilting frame. As a small child, I would sit under the frame. This was where the magic happened. This was the side where the stitches made the foundation. Each quilting bee started with another foundation: Bible study.
Today I still love quilting for pleasure and the joy of helping others through creating Lutheran World Relief Mission Quilts and other charity quilts. I think of faithful women in my family each time I work on the LWF quilts and know I am carrying on a family tradition.
Always I am reminded of the Scripture that inspired the women in my GrandElla’s bee: “She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy” (Proverbs 31:20).
This message is excerpted from “Under a quilt” by Mary Dixon in the July/August 2022 Gather magazine.