In between the moments of chaos and moments of boredom I have been trying to get the creative juices flowing again. Whatever it is that flows within me to bring out my creative side seems a bit dry or stagnant lately. I have been called on for the third time now to create a quilt for a friend who has cancer. ( I think I mentioned this in an earlier blog, or maybe I didn't, but since this blog is just for me I guess it doesn't matter. )
The only perameters and suggestions were something red and hearts might be good.
The first quilt I designed and helped sew was for Jody. After all her hair fell out she was sharing with a number of us how odd it felt to have her head stick to the back of the vinyl recliner in the Chemo room where she was spending so much of her time. None of us would have thought about this before. Why would we? Because of Jody's openness with us and her willingness to share her experience of cancer treatment, Barb and I began a quilt for her, Rosebuds for Recovery. As more friends heard of our project we had more offers to help with the handstitching, even those who had never sewed before were taught enough to put in a few stitches. In the end it was not a perfectly handmade quilt, but it was a quilt handmade with love in every sense of the word. Jody's quilt has since been shared with other women who have had need for it during Chomo treatments.
A few years after we made Rosebuds for Recovery we found out Ron had cancer. It was obvious to all of us that at nearly 6 foot 5 inches that Ron would need his own quilt and it would need to reflect his wonderful personality and strong nature. This time all of us, including Jody, were involved in the assembly and quilting of Ron's quilt. And I had more help in the design process as well. It was a beautiful quilt filled with vibrant colors that spaned the spectrum of the rainbow.
Ron lost his battle with cancer not too many months after we finished his quilt. My feelings were mixed at seeing it draped over his coffin at the funeral. A quilt is a symbol for warmth and comfort and seeing it over a cold, hard coffin was difficult to wrap my mind around. Yet in some way it felt so appropriate. It was as if each small piece of fabric blended together making one splendid quilt was a symbol for how we all came together because of Ron's friendship. What better image to portray what we all felt in the church at his funeral than the Quilt of Many Colors? All our lives had been touched by Ron, and we were all there collectively to celebrate his life and mourn our loss.
Part of the awesome spirit of the former quilts was the relationships that were deepened through the quilt-making process. Much of that is lost this time since I am now in Oregon and everyone else is back in Nebraska. But, I need to give my head, my heart, and my creativity to this quilt for Julie. I want her to have her own quilt so that Jody's can be passed on to someone else. I want her to know that we care as much for her as we do for Jody and Ron. I know she will recognize many of the same fabrics since she has helped us in the past, and I hope this holds special meaning for her. Time is of utmost importance and I hope in the future Julie is around to share this quilt with others like Jody.
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