The Meaning of Mabon According to FreeDragon

Mabon is one of my favorite pagan holidays. Sometimes I tend to rush through it because the Big One comes next- Halloween.

Fall is my favorite season. The nights are finally cooler. The leaves are beautiful. The sky is its most deepest shade of blue. There's a sense of sadness, but of joy too if you lived right and realize how lucky you are. Every Mabon I list what I am thankful for:

1. I am alive. This year especially, being alive is important and I am grateful.
1. Tied right up there with being alive is Kevin because he saved me. I have true love.
2. My fall garden is actually alive and growing. I have made an effort not to neglect my plants and they are rewarding me.
3. I live in a cozy little house in the land of my ancestors.
4. I am debt free.

Normally I have a nice long list, and I'm not saying that I am less thankful, oh no. What I mean is these 5 things are so important nothing else really seems to matter. I might have less on my list, but I feel more gratitude.

One thing that I normally list and it's not on there this year, is my job. I hate the company I work for. But it does pay the bills and it provides stellar insurance (Blue Cross Blue Shield, btw. If you can get it, awesome. If you got it, KEEP IT!) I have deliberately left work off the list because this is the year I think I should let it go. I do believe now is the time to earn a living doing something I love and not just wishing I could earn a living doing what I love. I understand this will not be easy. I understand it will be a struggle. I realize my financial future will be uncertain. But I know I am tried of being unhappy and often the stress of my job runs my sugar up, so my job isn't good for me. Controlling my diabetes is already hard enough.

Usually I bake a ham on Mabon. Kevin and I have a feast. It's very nice, our own little Thanksgiving celebration without the stress. We don't tell anyone what we are doing and since Mabon doesn't fall on any 'special' day we can usually enjoy our dinner without interruption. I positively DESPISE Thanksgiving. The cooking, the cleaning, the stress, the expense, the family drama- I can't handle it. Every year someone brings me food I have no intention of eating, usually some fat laden, greasy dish of odd texture and color. If I don't eat it they get offended. But this year I can use my illness as an excuse! Haha! There's a silver lining to every cloud.

This year I have a checking account balance of $0. We got paid today, but due to how our banks handle deposits, Kevin has money and I won't have any until tomorrow. He is buying us steak right now. I'm fine with that because even if I could have gone to the grocery store the kitchen is a mess from the sink flood. I haven't felt like doing extra work and I'm in the middle of a quilt.

I said I wanted to talk about quilting. It's a subject I've side-stepped before because, honestly, quilt blogs bore me to tears. I like to see what people make and what other quilters are doing, but I don't read project instructions. I'm much more interested in the personal life of the quilter, how every day events effect their sewing and what inspires them to quilt. It's so much more interesting to know a white quilt was made as a wedding present. Otherwise it's just a white quilt. There must be context for meaning. I think that is why blogging has become so popular- we are searching for meaning and validation.

I'm making a baby quilt for a little girl who isn't even born. Isn't that sweet and wonderful? Aren't you now picturing little Sarah Beth wrapped in something soft and pink?

Another confession- I hate pink. I don't have pink anything. I am not a girly girl. I. Do. Not. Wear. Pink.

However, Sarah Beth's mother believes in the power of pink. Thankfully the godmother requested the quilt and she likes pink and purple. I'm not sure I could make an all pink quilt. She also requested horses because that is the mother's favorite thing.

I got some cream fabric and drew horses, stars, and a crescent moon. I added a purple border. Then a pink border. And I backed the quilt in pink so I wouldn't really have to look at pink. I can only take so much. I have five different threads, three pink and two purple. Each night I stitch a horse and a few stars. I try to think only good thoughts. I imagine the horses running down moonbeams to bring good luck and sweet dreams. There will be no nightMares for this little girl.

This is a whole cloth quilt, meaning that there are no pieces sewn together (aside from the borders) and the quilting itself is the design. I have decided this is the kind of quilt I like best and it's what I will be focusing on in the future. I'm not giving up patchwork, I'm just laying it aside as I pursue other avenues. I've got lots of ideas in mind and hopefully they will be one of the ways I earn my living with my needle.