Oct 30, 2013

The Journey: Beauty Shared is Love Multiplied (AAQI)



The Journey

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice --
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do --
determined to save
the only life you could save.
                             - Mary Oliver 



We must take care of ourselves, first. And then, and only then, are we in a position of body, mind, and spirit to help others and be there for our families. Crisis points in our lives change us. They can make us weaker where we take flight, or they can make us stronger, where we feel the beauty of spirit and our own power and from this place of en-lighten-ment, we bring that light to shine its path into the darkness,  and a new life, a new self is born.

Shown above: Another of my small format art quilts that was donated to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) and is heading off to Houston this week for IQF

13,841 - Beauty Shared Is Love Multiplied 

Will be for sale at the AAQI Booth: Houston International Quilt Festival 2013

13,841 - Beauty Shared Is Love Multiplied (Houston)
Michele Bilyeu
Salem, OR USA
Width: 11" Length: 8.5"

Materials/Techniques: Asian fabric, metallic free motion quilting, and glass beads.

Artist Statement: I found this beautiful piece of Asian fabric and was delighted to be able to feature this young pair of Chinese Crested Pheasants as they await the arrival of new love and beauty into their lives.
Contact Michele
 
Dedication: For those who love, those who give and those who nurture others. May the beauty of the love you share be ever multiplied.
This quilt has Fast Finish Triangles.

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PLEASE NOTE:
Still having custom domain issues. Please bookmark my old address of
 http://with-heart-and-hands.blogspot.com if you are ever unable to connect to my web domain of www.with-heart-and-hands.com
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Michele Bilyeu blogs With Heart and Hands as she shares a quilting journey through her life in Salem, Oregon and Douglas, Alaska. Sewing, quilting, and wildcrafting, with small format art quilts, prayer flags, and comfort quilts for a variety of charitable programs. And best of all, sharing thousands of links to Free Quilt and Quilt Block Patterns and encouraging others to join in her Liberated Quilting Challenge and make and donate small art quilts to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative (AAQI) Help us change the world, one little quilt at a time!

9 comments:

Joyce Carter said...

Michele, the little quilt is so gorgeous! I love their tailfeathers! You did a beautiful job and I hope it brings in lots of money.

Michele Bilyeu said...

Thank you, Joyce! You are the first person to break through the 'this blog has been lost by search engines and google' barrier!! Congratulations and may I figure out how to fix it all, soon!

Celia said...

Well said Michele, powerful life changes remodel us from the inside out. Such a pretty quilt.

VivJM said...

This is one of my favourite poems. And love the quilt too.

Angie said...

This little quilt is just gorgeous, Michele---and I LOVE that poem.

Michele Bilyeu said...

Thank you, Angie!!!

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

You're not invisible to me Michele! This is a lovely piece as is the one in the last post. The depth and variety of your work is incredible.

Cher said...

stunning art and thank you for sharing such an inspiring poem..glad your blog is back accessible.

voyance amour said...

I really love what you do, bravo! Thank you very much for sharing with us this article.