It was a compelling and beautiful moment for me. Maria and Lena were talking about their quilts. I stood back to drink it in; it just hit me in a very personal and intense way.
As Lena nears 21, she gets three quilts, as is the Amish custom. The women in the family all work together to make the quilts.
When Amish children turn 21, they can stay at home if they wish, but they must be paid for their work.
When I came into the kitchen (a barn for now), the girls were excited; they all rushed to the door to tell me that Lena’s quilt was being made. Lena wondered if Maria might like to see it.
I called Maria on my cell, and she drove up and was in the room and at the table almost before I could put the phone back in my pocket. Maria and Lena just clicked. They talked excitedly to one another, I stayed back and out of hearing.
It looked very much like two artists, two sisters in creativity, comparing notes. They acted as if they had known each other all of their lives. Perhaps they had.
Maria seemed very much at home. There was something going on between those two, something you could almost reach out and touch. I think it had to be creativity.
What an emotional moment for me to see these strong and creative women coming together to share one another’s work. Wow. It almost knocked me off my feet.
Maria is getting Lena some chalk crayons, and Lena wants to come to the farm to see her newest quilt.
Maria and I were both very much affected by this visit and this scene. We aren’t sure why the Amish have come to mean so much to me, or the visit with Lena so much to her.
I think for both of us, it has to do with our stormy, angry, and intensely combative families. Neither of us wants to be Amish or could adjust to that world, but there are some very poignant and loving things about that family.
I feel it when I am there.
We never felt as safe in our homes or as connected and welcome as we both did and did in that kitchen. Maria wrote beautifully about it on her blog.
In the meantime, this will stand as one of my favorite photographs. It says so much to us.
On the way out, I asked the girls if they liked to stack wood for pay. They all said yes, they would love to. Maria loves doing it, but if she gets tired or backed up, we have a great plan B.
I’m going back to pick up eight boxes of donuts to take to the Mansion aides on Donut Friday. Friday afternoon, the Mansion is holding a two-hour event called Jon Katz day.
It makes me a little twitchy; Maria and Zinnia have been asked to come also. I hope we’re not doing any kind of award thing.
There may be an award but if not they’re going to want a few words said. Be prepared.
As a quilter myself, I love this post! I appreciated Maria’s blog post about family dynamics as well
It’s incredible how beautiful that quilt is with just 2 shades of blue and the black. The quilts my mom made when she was growing up and they were a necessity not a hobby (as they were when she started quilting again in retirement) were hand quilted and the texture is literally the texture of my childhood. When mom returned to quilting, she had a very nice lady with a long arm machine do the sewing of the layers together. I probably would have do the same thing myself. Hand quilting is tedious and hard on the fingers and lonely if you’re doing it on your own. But that’s how the love and magic get sewn into the quilt, with all those thousands of stitches, best felt by a young child’s fingertips as she begins to explore the world.
Love hearing about this lovely family. They are generous to let us have a peak at how things are done. Thanks, Jon!
P.S. happy Jon Katz day! 🙂
Jon I do believe you have found our tribe. Polar opposites but oh so much alike.
oppps I meant YOUR TRIBE.
Yes, Maria wrote beautifully about it, but unlike you, she found Moise’s patriarchal demands on his daughter demeaning and offensive. I agree–I do not view this family in the romanticized, glowing terms that you do.
Strange. Nothing in what Maria wrote made me think she thought what Mouse did was demeaning. Familiar. Patriarchal. But that doesn’t necessarily translate to”demeaning”
the word that comes to mind for me describing this family and your experiences with them is authentic. It seems that they dont play games with you. Dont know about their private selves but it seems like they are pretty real. Thank you for these glimpses into their lives. Oh and anytime your in NH donuts would be appreciated! They look so good!
I like the idea that after 21 the Amish pay their children for the work they do. I was paying room and board when I was 18 which was okay. Not much but that was pretty much the norm. Maria’s blog post was moving. I once heard this saying: “A strong family is like many sticks bunched together. Alone the sticks are easy to break – together it’s almost impossible.”
That’s a beautiful quilt. It would be fun to see Lena’s other 2 quilts. I was hoping to get to the Paducah Quilt Museum in Kentucky maybe this summer, but it’s hard to travel with so many people not getting vaccinated.
Thanks, Jean, I thought Maria’s post was beautifully written and touching.