The Quilt

The Quilt is the wonderful story of an old woman, Mary. She is a mother and a grandmother, and has a long and meaningful life to look back on. Now she feels all the signs of age, and her hands and fingers that used to do all kinds of useful crafts are now arthritic. Still they have their own, very special beauty, like Mary has in herself. People can see the beauty in this old woman, and not only family, but people of all ages comes to see her. And Mary has the skill to see the beauty in them all.Mary looks at her fingers, and can still see that God has something useful waiting for them. She knows that there is still something life wants her to do. She then starts to make the QUILT together with all the people coming to see her. But this is not an ordinary quilt. Every singel stich is made with a prayer. And as the stiching goes on, the life of the people we meet starts to change.This is a moving book, written in a beautiful way. The book teach us something important of life. In a time when we are all so busy, we never have time to sit down together, not to mention sit down in silence and in prayer. No one who gets involved with Mary's quilting project will be the same again. No one who gets involved in this book will be the same again. Weather you are a quilter or not, we all can do something with life, for ourselves and for others.Britt Arnhild Lindland

One does not have to be a quilter to appreciate the warmth and gentle peace which emanate from this gem of a little book. Aged and infirm, Mary is admired by most people in her community, for she has a special way of making each one feel at home and of value; she gently helps them find solutions to their problems and solace for their cares--a rare gift in itself. Because she leads others to calm introspection, she is considered by all a truly beautiful woman. Her two sons are so different, but one of them underdstands her need to complete something beautiful--to create with more than mere fingers. Mary has a dream to create a patchwork quilt from cherished scraps (a diary of the fabrics in her life). Her goal catches the imagination of her daughters-in-law, as well as other kind ladies in her town. Precious memories are shared as comunal stitching brings these women together in a way they did not realize possible. Soon it becomes imperative to complete the Quilt before Mary--with her arthritic hands--is called Home. She loved both her sons to the end, but only one understood her great need to preserve the sacred family memories. This book will touch your heart and possibly inspire you to start saving the special fabric scraps of your own life. Most importantly, to cherish your family and leave them a memorable, tangible gift of your love.

When I was knitting a blanket for a friend's very premature and very at-risk son I put it aside because I was afraid that I would be "jinxing" them. And then I read this book - and realized that every stitch could be a prayer for Matthew. He's 5 now, with some problems, but he loves and is loved. And his blanket has warmed his siblings as well.

Several years ago, I found T. Davis Bunn's book, The Quilt at my local Christian Book store. Since I sew quilts for friends and for craft shows to sell, I made the purchase. It was one of those hard-to-put-down books. Quilts and quilting seem to bring friends and family together. I was especially impressed by how Mary used the power of prayer in the stitching of her quilt. Most of us women and some men, have a difficult time in sitting quietly and reflecting on others. We are so much into a fast-paced world that we fail to really get to know others and even less to care about them. When Mary dies, her family and friends understand how much she has affected all their lives and gives them a new meaning of life. Even the other members of the town who do not come to quilt have to admit that there was something special going on at Mary's home that was very moving. I would recommend this book to anyone, quilter or not. I have also read Bunn's other books: The Gift, The Messenger and would also recommend them as well.

This wonderful story, will encourage you to pray, to hope, to engage with the old and infirm. It brought tears even to this male's eyes and those tears fell on my heart and started a softening which continues to this day.