Accidental Sanctuary

Lessons from the Sisters Quilting Collective

On the second Thursday of every month, the Sisters Quilting Collective meets at Meissner Sewing & Vacuum in Sacramento from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was expecting—maybe a quick craft demonstration or a room full of fabric scraps. I couldn’t wrap my head around what could possibly keep a group engaged for two full hours about quilting, but I was determined to find out.

Now, full transparency: I know nothing about quilting. My entire sewing resume consists of threading a needle for minor mending and using a machine once during a puppetry workshop—where sewing wasn’t even the main attraction. I am no seamstress; I actively dodged the costume department in every theater production internship I ever had. It has never been my thing.

But with Khia preparing to graduate high school, and my drive to turn the Myth & Marrow stage panels into physical, hand-stitched art, learning to craft these pieces myself felt non-negotiable. Of course, as my wife, May, loves to remind me: I always have to choose the path that makes things ten times harder.

So, I shifted my schedule, knocked out my writing and volleyball tasks early, and sneaked away for two hours to figure out what this collective was all about.

I ended up walking right into a living piece of my own research.

After spending two years buried in historical archives studying Black women’s civic organizations—from the M.C. Lawton Club in Albany to the Women’s Civic Improvement Club right here in Sacramento—I found myself sitting in a room full of retired Black women doing that exact legacy work. These women weren’t just stitching; they were organizing, keeping oral history alive, and holding sacred space for community care.

It felt like the missing piece of my entire year. Every chaotic thread of my current season lined up into a clear, freeform pattern:

• Script Integration: The rewrite for Myth & Marrow started clicking in my head with sharper clarity and deeper emotion. Translating body-maps into quilted panels is going to be symbolic, literal, and deeply grounding—just like Black women’s labor in America.
• Spiritual Confirmation: In yesterday’s post, I mentioned Hidden in Plain View by Jacqueline L. Tobin and Raymond G. Dobard, Ph.D. During the meeting, the collective brought up legendary 19th-century artist Harriet Powers. That exact night, when I opened the book, Harriet Powers appeared in the very next chapter! It was one of those moments where I could hear Jesus and my grandfather having a cute little chuckle in heaven, saying, “It’s so cute when she thinks she’s running the show on her own.”
• Active Membership: One of the founding members—who also serves on a library board—proposed a collaboration bringing in a quilt historian to present research on Harriet Powers. Now I  am officially intrigued. I have decided to fill out my application and paid my $40 dues to join ahead of next month’s meeting. I want to spend more time with this feisty, brilliant group of creators. As a researcher, this moves me from an observer to an active participant. Literal chills y’all!!

During their “Show and Tell” trunk show, an elder pulled out pieces from her private collection and broke down the backstory behind every single symbol and fabric choice. Nothing was frivolous. Every stitch held purpose, prayer, and intentionality.

That distinction hit me right in the chest: it is the difference between buying a mass-produced item off a shelf and creating something with your own hands. I left that meeting radiating full Molly Weasley energy, ready to hand-craft every single holiday gift for my family from here on out. Disrupting my normal daily routine gave me such a massive surge of creative energy that I went back the very next day and bought a sewing machine. I was practically bouncing out of the store, eager to unbox it at home.

When we create with intention, we reclaim our time, energy, and spirit from a consumer culture that wants us constantly buying instead of building.

Tangible Next Step (A.F.R.O. — Real Experiences & Opportunities):

• The Handmade Gift Challenge: Pick one upcoming birthday or holiday gift you would normally order online. Instead of clicking “add to cart,” map out one simple, personalized item you can craft or assemble over the next month—whether it’s a framed family photo collage, a customized handwritten recipe card, or a basic stitched keepsake.
• Community Prompt: What is one domestic craft or skill you avoided when you were younger that you are suddenly drawn to now that you’re older? Let’s talk about it in the comments!