Pieces of the Heart!

I always love to work with old quilts, especially those that have been tossed aside because they are stained, torn, frayed, and thought to be useless. So many hours of loving work went into these quilts, and I've always believed that they can be reused in new ways. By cutting away the worst places and making something new, the memories of these quilts can go on living in new and cherished items.

Crazy quilts are my favorites! The embroidery stitches, the different fabrices, the array of colors --- so abstract, but full of vibrant life and love.

I've made so many things out of these old quilts, but whenever I make a heart pillow, or cut a heart shape for a framed item, I think of how many hearts out there have been torn apart by loss, sorrow, and pain. If you are one of those people whose heart is aching today, this is for you!

Pieces of The Heart

It isn't the fancy, pretty heart
God uses --
It's not the one kept tucked away,
Protected from the hurts
And dirt and bruises of the world.
How can a person give away
A piece of a heart
That is still whole?
How can they know how to mend
And stitch the patches
If they themselves
Know not the pain
Of being ripped apart?
Somehow, somewhere,
Deep within the broken, mended heart,
God keeps a little drawer
Full of extra patches, threads, and needles,
And they know,
As no unbroken heart can know,
How to give the pieces of their heart
And patch and stitch and mend
The heart of a broken friend.
--Cora Eelman