Creative Nudge – Lady Liberty as Muse

When you read this, it will be September 11, the 12th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Towers.
Because I had lived in the East Village
in NYC for many years, even though I had started a new life back in
Colorado in 1990, that day is seared into my memory as it is for most of
you.

It was also the starting point of our comfort quilt program for disaster victims, in partnership with Mission of Love.
On 9/11, I watched the towers come down on TV.
Then I went into the office to tell our staff what I had seen.
We held hands and prayed for peace and understanding, and all we could think of was…what can we do to help?

We put out the call to our customers, and over 3000 quilts came pouring in.
They were distributed in NYC to families who had lost a loved one, or who had otherwise been directly affected by the event.
Mission of Love, and some of my old friends in NYC
who were part of my spiritual network, made sure that each quilt was
personally placed into the arms of someone who had suffered a loss.

I snapped this photo in March of this year, about an hour before Sophie and I visited the memorial park at Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.
I have a very special attachment to Lady Liberty.
When I lived in NYC in the 80's, I was very fortunate to be able to climb all the way up into her crown, and look out across the harbor to the World Trade Center's twin towers.

In 1986 I went to her Centennial Celebration and joined in the giant lovefest that the city has for Lady Liberty.

Honestly, whenever I see her in person,
I get teary-eyed.
I know I have ancestors who saw her as they arrived in the US, so
perhaps there is a genetic memory of the emotional intensity they must
have felt when they saw this grand lady greeting them with her
illuminating torch held high.

We have friends in the quilt industry who lost loved ones on 9/11/2001, and today we send them love and wish them peace.

We thank all the quilters who rushed to send quilts after 9/11/2001, but
also all of you who sent quilts after Katrina, the Haiti earthquake,
the Japan Tsunami, the Colorado Fires, Hurricane Sandy, and the tornado in Oklahoma.

I am leaving Friday for India, the largest democracy
in the world, but also a land of great contrasts of beauty and poverty.
Through Facebook and my contacts as a Bernina Artisan, I am grateful to
have connected with a fellow quilter (and Bernina lover!) in New Delhi,
who is going to host Pam Holland and I on Sunday.
We will gather with a group of quilters for a special dinner on Monday
night, before leaving on our cross-country adventure Tuesday morning.

We have uploaded the last 3 videos from Birmingham Quilt Festival, bringing the total to 12 videos from this European quilt exhibition.

You may notice that we now have topped 100 videos on the eQuilter video page! Please take advantage of the inspiration and information that is contained in all of our quilt videos…
it is there for you to enjoy!