Fabric From Tanzania. Going To Kolkata, India

I opened the box and pulled out each piece of fabric.  Not too long ago it was in Tanzania being given to Dahn, by her friend, a seamstress, to give to me.

I marveled at each piece.

I thought of how I might sew them together to make a potholder.  How I would be using this fabric to teach other women how to make potholders.   And that their potholders wouldn’t look like mine might.  Each woman would make her own individual and unique designs.  Which would depend on her aesthetic, her intuition.

Because the potholders aren’t just functional and beautiful. In making them I’ve learned again and again to trust my intuition.  It’s an exercise I’ve repeated thousands of times, which each potholder I’ve made.  And it works.  That trust in myself, beginning with  my potholders and quilts broadened into the rest of my life.  Teaching me that not only do I know which colors and patterns go well together, but that I’m capable of trusting my self and making good decisions in all parts of my life.

And when I do make a mistake, I can just remove the stitches or alter the design by cutting it up and moving it around and making it right.  Mistakes can be altered and often lead to a way of doing something I wouldn’t have otherwise thought of.

This fabric, like a passport between continents, between women.  Women who may not know each other, but who care about each other.  With Dahn making the connections.  From Tanzania, to New York, to Kolkata.