"Stitching" voices into the patchwork quilt of qualitative research

To Assemble and Stitch a Research Dissertation When I learnt the art of patchwork quilting, the elderly teacher bemoaned the need to hold a quilt together with stitches. The joy in quilting, she explained, stems from a delight in fabrics, colours and the quilt design. She joked that were it possible to 'whack a quilt together' with glue, it would be preferable to the labour-intense process of assembly by stitching. However, to 'short-cut' the assembly process would not produce a quilt likely to be appreciated for its beauty, stability or warmth. I extend this notion to the doctoral thesis process.