Were you to plug me in and chart my vitals this week you’d find my stress levels well into the red zone. I am stressed for many of the typical reasons: visit from mom, end of year school demands, party planning, broken appliances... This morning, while dusting this quilt I found at a yard sale some years ago, I was briefly caught in a trance of sorts. I saw the thousands of tiny stitches, the countless little efforts of cutting, tucking, and holding the cloth in place. The quilt was briefly transformed into a time scape of someone’s patient and careful effort toward beauty. As I stood there holding my duster and witnessing the intention and skill of some other artist I felt the band of stress across my abdomen release, I felt my tightened shoulders relax. Art therapy, and second hand at that!