This morning, a flood of memories hit my brain as I awoke, like a camera snapping photos of events that have happened over a lifetime. The following is a list of what I recalled. These ideas are not listed in chronological order.
Patricia Cummings – 2009
1) I remember showing up at a Boston hotel to give a talk at the International Conference of Neurosurgeons, in the hospitality lounge, and being greeted by a big sign, announcing my name and title of the talk. My position was misrepresented. I was the Regional Coordinator for the American Quilt Study Group, at the time, not the “chairman” of that group. Someone got their wires crossed, yet I took the sign home when it was offered, finding it quaint. My talk was about the history of Crazy Quilts and I brought a selection of my own miniature quilts to display.
2) I recall what fun I had at area meetings of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America, and how I presented five consecutive programs about Japanese Sashiko, Culture, Music, and Design Themes, in the 1990s. It was a tight-knit group with classy, older ladies, most of whom have now passed on.
3) I fondly remember working with my friend, the late Virginia Stevens, a weaver and embroiderer who loved textile history, for a year and a half, to study and document all of the quilts in the NH Historical Society’s collection. (1993-1994). I wrote a report for curator’s use.
4) What fun Jim and I had while visiting the Remick Museum, Strawbery Banke Museum, and the Musterfield Farm Museum, all in New Hampshire, to prepare articles and to see their antique quilts and write about them. We were on hand, several times, at the Remick, to meet and greet visitors and talk about quilts.
5) I remember how hard I worked on making an outfit to wear for 4-H Dress Review, when I was a teenager, and how happy I was to win a ribbon for the jumper and white crepe blouse with lace-trimmed, bell-shaped sleeves.
4-H performance at the Town Hall. David Hersey and Patricia Grace (me!), on guitar
6) I think about what a young teenager I was when (at age 14 or 15), I was elected as Secretary of Grange #74, Deerfield, NH, and how mostly everyone else who attended those meetings has now passed on.
Russell Bowden, Worthy Master of Grange *74, George Moulton, Gertrude Petersen, and Robert Stevens. This photo was taken when I was a teenager, and these four individuals are no longer with us.
7) I recall how excited I was to be able to take care of a retired Standardbred (“camp”) horse, who was very gentle and I recollect the day “we” won a Blue Ribbon at the Deerfield Fairgrounds. See a photo of us in the song file, “Mi Caballo Blanco.”
I’ll never forget the night that I was inducted into Sigma Delta Pi, the National Honor Society for Spanish Scholars. The meeting featured Jorge Luis Borges, a famous Argentinian writer, whose work I love. He is now deceased.
9) I remember calling Texas, after the judging of the 6th step (quilt) of the Master Craftsman program, only to be told by the program chairman’s husband, “Not Pass.” It was awhile before I could set to work again, and in the end, was very grateful for the chance to prove myself again with a final quilt. I earned the title of Master Craftsman in Quilting within 9 years; it had taken the chairman, at the time, 14 years. After my final quilt had been hung in the hot sun for four days and nothing could be found to disqualify it, I received notification that it had passed. Equally, I remember the blue ribbon I was awarded for a Hawaiian quilt that I put on exhibit in New Hampshire (I rarely exhibit my quilts, although I did send two of them off to a TAS show in 2003).
Mini-quilt made by Patricia Cummings and sent to Russia in 1992 as a friendship gift
This photo shows me with my “adopted” Auntie, Gertrude Petersen and her husband, John, and my father (John E. Grace), on the right. I am the lone survivor of people in this photo.
10) I am thankful for all of the fine people in my life who have taught me how to think about Liberal Arts, and Life itself. I am thankful for those who approach life with zest and have a passion for living.
11) With joy, I remember spotting an orange salamander at Profile Falls, on a hike in the fall, right after 9-11. I have loved those creatures since I was in grade school.
12) I remember a phone call that changed my life, and a subsequent “gift” of many family textile items (the Lewis Collection) to study, photograph, and publish.
13) In the category of things for which I give thanks, I remember submitting an article to a magazine editor. She told me she loved it, and if I had any others, to just let her know. I am working on my 69th article for that same magazine!
14) I think back to when I participated in an International Dinner to raise money for 4-H, and how I was part of a Can-Can dance line, how I played my guitar and sang with other people, and how I made a green and white apron and wore a green dress, to wait on tables. I also modeled a two-piece swimming suit – those were the days!
15) I recall the UNH requirement that stated that all students had to be able to swim four lengths of the pool to graduate. I did not know how to swim at 18, yet I used mind over matter, so to speak, and took Lifeguard training and W.S.I. classes. I taught Swimming at a summer camp.
View from the dock where I taught Swimming for one summer in Andover, New Hampshire
16) I remember the 5:30 a.m. phone calls from school districts all around Concord, NH, beckoning me to substitute teach for the day. I always loved Mrs. Graham’s college-bound juniors. One of the students wrote a poem and dedicated it to me. He is the same kid who liked to do impersonations of an evangelical minister (“just write me a check,” … and he took his own advice and became a minister.
Holiday reception at the NH State House. This photo shows Gov. John Sununu greeting Patricia Cummings in 1989.
17) I recall how happy I was to type legislation proposals in the Legislative Services department of the NH State House for one year.
So many good memories. I’ve barely scratched the surface. Bad memories count, as well, and always hold a lesson, although they are not fruitful enough to linger over.
If ever I were to doubt that there is a “Gott in Himmel,” all I have to do is to remember the opportunities that have been afforded me, and the many times I have been able to share in so many ways, providing information about quilt care, international textiles, Redwork, Sweetheart Pillows, and other topics. I have had good luck finding research facts that have escaped others, and in having the wherewithal to write well enough to produce books and patterns, as well as articles.
This may seem like one long brag. It isn’t. What you have just read is an exercise in self-affirmation. Try it, if you ever get to feeling discounted or under-appreciated. Just think of all the accomplishments you have had, and you will realize that you have done a whole lot more than you think.
Wishing you peace and happiness,
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
