HANDS ON JOY

I am making quilt blocks for a christmas quilt for the doll bed for the christmas window. As I send designs to the embroidery machine, it made me think. This quilt is all about gingerbread. Many years ago, we made gingerbread men and cookies and decorated them with red hots and gum drops and white icing. If we wanted a house, it took lots of trays of gingerbread, engineered to stand up, not eat, and we spent days making the house and cookies. Now we buy the elements already made at the store and the box has all the candy and gingerbread and everything we need to make a truly remarkable house. What's the difference? Well, aside from the time, there was the smell of gingerbread all through the house for days. The joy of seeing the house stand up, not crumbled in a heap, the joy of the essence of Christmas in the smells of the season.
I know, I have these designs on the embroidery machine, but I did have to digitize or edit them. If I did them by hand, they might be ready by 2012 if I could see to do the intricate work.
I think we miss a lot by not being hands on, but I know I can produce 550 (or more) of these quilts in the time it would take me to do one by hand. So what is the trade off? I am sure I would rather spray some gingerbread scent in the store than do them by hand, but I do still remember the great joy of doing it by hand and when it is given to someone, they know that a lot of work and love went into the product. Well...I can just love more people this way and as long as I think it through and plan it well, surely it can carry that much joy and love. So move over past, get out of my way...I have lots to do.