Monday, April 4, 2016

Makes it all worthwhile

Yesterday a brother and sister were left behind while their mother passed on without them.  In a quiet, dim hospital room on a cool Spring afternoon.  With an underwhelming view of a gravel roof out the window and nurses on the other side of the closed door talking, laughing, anticipating their pot-luck lunch.  It wasn't and ending with it a bang, it was quiet and subdued. Witnessed by only a brother and a sister, and a nurse who knowingly watched the heart monitor from another room.  For the rest of us the day continued, life goes on, there are casseroles and Sundaes in the break room and tomorrow we get to sleep in.  But for a brother and a sister, at least for this week, the world stopped turning, that much darker for the loss of one person who mattered so much.

I got the honor of placing a quilt on the bed of that sweet mother yesterday. So that when the brother and sister walked out of our hospital without their mom they carried something else. One of our October block drive Falling Leaves quilts went to its forever home with the brother and the sister.  Thanks sooo much to everyone who contributes to our monthly block drives for Covered in Love! You guys don't ever get to meet the family and put the quilt on the bed, but without your support I would never get to either.  Each block you send in matters.


This month we're making string lattice blocks, you can find the tutorial here.  Meanwhile, I started playing with March's blocks on the design wall last night.  These are going to be so cool! Each quilt will have at least 144 different novelty squares to look at.


This week I'm also continuing to work on my "to-be-quilted" backlog, four more tops to go.  Rory is being her usual helpful self.  If you want to get involved with Covered in Love comment or drop me an email, and thanks to all of you who already have helped. You're my heroes.

Happy Monday!

Linking to Patchwork Times.

6 comments:

  1. Kat, I don't know how you do it but I'm glad you do! I first read your post through Bloglovin' hours ago and still have tears when I think about it. You write beautifully, I felt like I was standing in the room with them. :(

    March's blocks look fantastic on your wall!

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  2. Kat, Thank you so much for sharing this story. It is very powerful and an important reminder for us to count our blessings that we can each make a difference by helping in some small way. A little warmth and kindness from a stranger at such a hard, sad time will always be remembered.

    I will hold this story for guidance in my heart as I sew.

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  3. This is exactly why we make the blocks - you're doing it for all of us.
    I just shared this story with the postal outlet clerk who was processing my April blocks, and we were both in tears. It takes a very special kind of nurse to work in palliative care, and I'm thankful for the family's sake that you are there, with them and for them, with all the love that these quilts hold...

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  4. Thank you so much for sharing this story. My Dad dies at home and the blanket that covered him for the last 2 days is now an all important link to me. You, and your volunteers, are doing such an amazing thing.

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  5. You have started something wonderful Kat. It took me awhile to be able to comment because of waiting for the tears to clear up. I wish my mom had something like this when she died. I'd like to start sending blocks in a couple of months. (I have to clear up other commitments first.)

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