Quilting Lessons: Notes from the Scrap Bag of a Writer and Quilter

by Janet Catherine Berlo

In the middle of a successful academic career, art historian Janet Catherine Berlo found herself literally at a loss for words. A severe case of writer’s block forced her to abandon a book manuscript midstream; she found herself quilting instead. Scorning the logic, planning, and order of scholarship and writing, she immersed herself in freewheeling patterns and vivid colors. For eighteen months she spent all day, every day, quilting. This book penetrates to the very heart of women’s lives, focusing on their relationships to family and friends, to work, to daily tasks. It is a search for meaning at midlife, a search for an integration of career and creativity.

Genres: Memoir, Quilting, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2001

Reviews

[Roberta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I made a huge effort to feel empathy and squeezed out three stars. It's my good deed for the day.

The title of this book more than implies that it is a book about quilting -- it's not. It is actually a memoir. While the author is a quilter, the book is more about her, her relationship with her friends and family, her depression, and her writer's block. It's basically her therapy journal. Her dog dies on page 110.

I probably should have stopped reading when Berlo was 39 and had a big crisis about turning 40. I should have known right then.

The book was sort of interesting (and depressing) to read but don't be misled by the title.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good insights here, especially the role quilting can play in generating creativity and providing succor during times of distress.

[Debby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally pulled this off my shelf. Good read so far. Nice cross connection demonstrating how purpose in life is not simple - it is linked to individual and varied interests and needs. Appreciate the inclusiveness of her writing -- dealing with the varied individual paths of our lives and how the variations intertwine as needed to make each of us unique. Lots of left brain/right brain crossovers.

[Sandy H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting exploration of the effects of writer's block--or more than writer's block, really; an entire dismantling of a sense of self. Berlo describes through a series of essays how her quiltmaking helped her through a healing process in a difficult journey through depression and its effects on her personally and professionally. I enjoyed the book and could certainly resonate with at least some of what she describes.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because it shows how out of chaos can come beauty. Ironically, a writer's block enabled this woman to venture into the world of making fabric works of art. I wonder what other activity might help my mind, as I attempt to eliminate the sewing "block" (like writer's block) that results in the lack of progress in many of my qulting projects.

[Liz Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good friend suggested this book to me and she did so at exactly the right time. Berlo writes about the tension between what she should be doing (writing a book) and what she wants to be doing (quilting), which is a struggle I am also experiencing. I appreciated many of her observations and feel validated in my concerns and my reactions. Now, back to quilting.

[Teresa]

Interesting insights into one woman's progress with both quilting and writing.

[Julie Farrar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Working through the ultimate writer's block