Patchwork....

I've just started on a new patchwork project and am busily acquiring the various colours and patterns that I need to produce the desired effect. It struck me as I was sketching out the design how patchwork relates to life... Each piece represents a portion of a bigger piece but has been carefully shaped and cut, stitched and eased into place in order to produce what is required. As children, our parents and teachers aspire to do this to our developing minds by moulding and shaping us to enable us to fit in with the world. However, the most perfect pieces do not always produce the best designs and the odd random piece or flash of clashing colour is not only a piece of drama in the end result, but something of a talking point. I look at my grandchildren, each of them very different and with a background very much apart from the world I grew up in. Will their stable and comfortable background enable them to become better people because of the firm but loving guidance? Or would a background of diverse experiences and struggles prepare them better for the real world? I don't want my grandchildren to experience adversity but it's my view that children benefit from exposure to the less pleasant things of life in order that they more gratefully appreciate the good in life. Thankfully they do this and will continue to do this whilst I continue to add my own flashes of colour to their lives in the telling of my own stories.