Some people took on pandemic projects like baking bread or binge-watching television series. Paul Seling of Wooster, Ohio, decided that he wanted to tackle a long-time goal – learning how to quilt.
A 34-year-old father of two young children, Seling doesn’t fit the stereotypical mold of a traditional Mennonite quilter. But he uses this perspective to create modern and thought-provoking quilts, including one he recently donated to the Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale.
Growing up in northeast Ohio near Amish country, Seling has long admired the beautiful quilts and talented quilters in the area. His mother created crafts out of scrap quilts, so quilts were always around when he was young.
“I thought it would be fun to try to learn how to do that sometime, but I always felt like I was too busy,” he said. “I thought maybe when I retire, this could be something to do.”
Last June, with the pandemic surging and spending lots of time at home, Seling’s wife Alicia gave him a quilt pattern for his 33rd birthday and encouraged him to finally give quilting a try.
After checking out some YouTube video tutorials to try to make sense of the pattern, Seling felt overwhelmed and reached out to his friend Rachel King, owner of a Time to Craft in Wooster.
King, who regularly hosts art classes at her shop and is a quilter herself, put together a four-week quilting class in July for Seling and three other participants. By the end of the class, Seling had learned basic quilting skills and created a small, quilted wall hanging.
Armed with his new knowledge, Seling was eager to tackle quilting on his own. “We were home a lot more than we would have been otherwise, so I think that gave me a good jump start,” said Seling, who works in the alumni relations office at the College of Wooster. He welcomes the creative outlet that quilting provides.
In past years Seling had attended the Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale that takes place in Wooster each August, and was struck by the beauty of the quilts in the auction. He had contemplated making a quilt to donate, so when he heard in May that the deadline for donating quilts was rapidly approaching, he decided to jump on it.
“I just really appreciate the work of MCC,” he said. “I’m excited that now that I know how to make a quilt, I could make a donation and know that whatever the funds raised are going to join in with all of the other ways that people give to support that work.”
With the deadline only a few weeks away, Seling took to his basement where he has converted a large work table into a fabric cutting area and set up his sewing machine nearby. He decided to use “The Rows Quilt” pattern by Cherisa Smith which he was helping to test.
The finished quilt is a beautiful minimalist design using grey and gold which he titled “The Sun Shines Through” for his donation to the relief sale auction. “The quilt that I made was a little different,” he explained. “A lot of them are more traditional, but I’m drawn to more modern quilts and modern designs in quilting.”
While the Ohio Mennonite Relief Sale has had quilt donations from groups that include both women and men, the majority of quilts are donated by women. In fact, Seling’s quilt appears to be the first quilt that was completed, start to finish, by a man.
Seling was eager to donate his quilt to MCC as he resonates with the way that MCC works around the world. “I appreciate that there is a focus on partnering with local leaders to determine what is needed rather than just showing up and saying ‘we’re here and we know best and we’ll let you know what you need and do it for you,” he said.
Although he didn’t grow up Mennonite or knowing much about MCC, as a College of Wooster student Seling got connected with Wooster Mennonite Church and joined the congregation upon graduating and getting married. Through participating in congregational activities like knotting MCC comforters and hearing from MCC speakers, Seling learned about MCC and wanted to get involved.
He is especially drawn to MCC’s peace initiative projects. “I remember reading about a peace camp where they brought kids from different backgrounds that traditionally weren’t together to a summer camp so they could get to know each other and think through peacemaking ideas,” reflected Seling. “I’m excited to support that work in some way by donating a quilt.”
Soon after he began his quilting journey, Seling created an Instagram account named “hequilts” and began connecting with the large quilting community on social media and sharing photos and videos of his latest projects. He has enjoyed these virtual links, particularly with younger quilters and others interested in modern quilt designs.
He’s also made an effort to network with other men using the #menwhoquilt hashtag. “Sometimes people are a little surprised when I say that I quilt,” said Seling. “It’s not something they have seen before. But I’m not deterred by that.
Quilting has been a way for Seling to process current events over the past year. And quilting for activism is an important part of Seling’s approach as he connects his passion for social justice with his art.
“There’s a long history of quilts being used in activism,” he said. “There’s a lot of great quilters who use quilts to share political messages or social justice messages.”
One of the first quilts he made on his own was a Black Lives Matter wall hanging which he held up as his sign at local demonstrations. And he is currently working on a quilt named “Quilt for a Boy,” using traditional quilt block patterns and traditionally feminine colors like pink and purple.
“The purpose of the quilt is both to say ‘here’s a pink quilt and it can be for a boy,’” he explains. “And also I think there’s something important in quilt for boy. I’m quilting for a boy so that a boy can say, ‘I can pursue whatever activities I want, whether they’ve been deemed masculine or feminine.’”
As life starts to get busier again, Seling is still quilting multiple times a week and looks forward to experimenting more with his own designs.
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