The "Ninepatch"

The Amish are descendants of European Anabaptist's, who in the late sixteenth century were the radicals of their day. The Anabaptist's, including the followers of Menno Simons called Mennonites, risked their lives trying to change things, believing that earlier Protestants hadn't gone far enough in their reforms. They were named Anabaptist's because they were against infant baptism, believing that people should wait till they reached twenty and could make a conscious choice about their religion.

Jacob Ammann, the charismatic Mennonite leader for whom the Amish were named, went even further than other Anabaptist's in his demands for strict reform. In the 1690's, he questioned the enormous power and authority of the Catholic church, thinking there should be a clear separation between church and state. He criticized the vanities of the church, the ornate ceremonies, the luxurious clothing worn by priests, believing that something crucial got lost when the hierarchy of the church separated an individual from a direct experience of his God. Religion should be a felt experience. The Amish, his followers, saw themselves as God's chosen people and were taught that God had a personal interest in their lives.

Ammann's beliefs led him to seek a way for his followers to lead a good and decent life. He demanded a return to the plain and simple, Pious feelings and simple rural living should go together. He taught them to practice their beliefs. Worshiping in church on Sunday wasn't enough. Applying what they believed day in and day out was what mattered. Customs and traditions reinforced religious beliefs. "By their fruit ye shall know them," the Bible said.

Ammann's quite specific teachings extended into every aspect of daily life. Humility and modesty were valued, and he reinstated some of the earliest Christian rituals--such as foot washing--to remind his followers to be humble. He preached non-violence and told his people to refuse to fight in wars. Ostentation was a sin, a sign of false pride; since buttons were originally used as ornamentation, he insisted that only hooks and eyes be used. Ammann's intention was to keep the Amish separate and distinct. By remaining apart from the larger community, this "small island of outsiders" would be drawn together.

A ninepatch is the simplest quilting pattern, the one an Amish mother uses to initiate her daughter into the craft of quilt making. In theory, the concept is easy. Place one dark square next to one light square, until a grid of nine patches comes together in a tic-tac-toe pattern. No one is labeled an "artist" in an Amish community. That would be a sign of false pride. They're a deeply religious people, and humility is a trait that's valued. Things are made to be used, not revered.

How to fuse the disparate choices into one life? How to design a life with all the varied pieces---arrange and rearrange--and in the process create a feasible pattern to live by?

Patch #1 Valuing the Process/Valuing the Product

While I don't make Amish quilts (and I have quilted), I do enjoy my hand at skirting raw wool, washing it, carding and hand spinning my fiber from our sheep. This is truly a task to be savored as there is no chance for a hurried product. There is the skirting of the wool, (removal of all vegetable and animal matter), carding the wool for the making of rolags (a length of tubular wool, carded and ready for hand spinning). Once this process is done, I begin to hand spin the wool. I use the "inch-worm technique," namely drafting with my drop spindle. All work is important in this process, all work is of value honoring the process and the product. It's in the energy I find the pleasure, in doing and finding meaning in the work itself. For me it's all connected.

Patch #2 Living in Time

There is no need to rush to get one thing over so you can get on to something more important. It's understanding that it's not rushing through tasks to achieve a series of goals that is satisfying; it's experiencing each moment along the way.

Patch #3 Celebrating the Ordinary

It's the everyday things that give life its stability and its framework.

Patch #4 Home

The things I do daily are my focus, from feeding my sheep, to watering my flowers, harvesting and canning our vegetables from our garden, playing my guitar, cleaning our home, washing laundry and hanging it out to dry................this is MY expression of who I am, it has spiritual meaning to me.

Patch #5 Community

I share joy and hardship with others in my life. For instance, my very good friend Barbara of Fiber Rose Ranch, comes to my home monthly. It's our time to share lunch and a conversation while crocheting, knitting, and chatting over happenings in our lives. Another friend calls me for help with canning (she's new to this "craft"), sharing seedlings from my heirloom garden with a multitude of others, community work at Christmas. Community life is a natural extension of my home life.

Patch #6 Life as Art

One year, not long ago, I made my grand daughter Kiley a set of "Church dolls." These were three little dolls made of muslin, hand embroidered with hair and clothes tucked neatly into a tri-fold calico "wallet" with a hook and eye closure. These were dolls to entertain her while she sat in church, something to keep her occupied but quite. While it took me several years to make these dolls, it was one of the most joyous gifts I had ever given anyone. It was the beauty and practicality of the object that gave me joy, something especially for Kiley.

Patch #7 Limits as Freedom

When my expectations and achievements match, I'm content. Doing the best I can, and not questioning who I am, or where I belong brings me freedom. Having my limits, subtracting distractions, making a commitment to do well for each day, brings me a new intensity.

Patch #8 Power of Contrast

The startling balance of one kind of energy coexisting with a very different one. A simple hand spun and crocheted dishcloth to be used daily against a lavish dyed, and knitted woolen scarf. Two very practical items allowing usage of different energies. Or my plain, dirt pastures against the contrast of my vegetable garden with flowers and herbs in all it's vitality.

Patch #9 Choice

I've learned that the more choices I have, doesn't mean I'm luckier. There is a difference between having many choices and making a choice. Making a choice-declaring what is essential-creates a framework for a life that eliminates many choices but gives meaning to the things that remain. Satisfaction for me comes in giving up the wishing I was somewhere else or doing something else. It's living in the moment and reminding myself that nothing I am doing is wasted time.

While I am certainly NOT Amish, I admit they have many spiritual attributes to their lives that I admire. I've learned much about the Amish over the years, as their lifestyle has always intrigued me. I've even "threatened" the kids that if/when I become a widow, I will join the Amish community. Fortunately for the kids, they don't accept the "English outsiders."

Several years back, I bought my mother (who loves dolls) a "Faceless" Amish doll, made by the Amish. The eyes, nose, mouth, fingers, and toes are missing. Their bodies are covered with hardy unbleached muslin. Dressed in tattered, dark, old-fashioned clothing and bonnets they each have a distinct personality, the unique mark of the mother who made the doll for her child. For years, these dolls were not sold to the public, Amish mothers made these dolls for their daughters. Always, the same, no need to change or embellish or improve them. They just needed to be durable enough to withstand lots of use.

The Amish secret.................there aren't any secrets! They know there is nothing "out there," just the "timeless present." How they live reflects what they believe. Their life is art. Learn not to rush through life in order to get "the goodies." Learn that life delivers the goods, and it's quite different...........