“There’s just this for consolation: An hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds and expectations to burst open and give us everything we’ve ever imagined, though everyone but children (and perhaps even they) knows these hours will inevitably be followed by others, far darker and more difficult.”
The Hours
Michael Cunningham
One of ten beautiful quilts I made for a family after a loved one passed away.
Hello, Everyone!
This week I was reminded how important my work is to my customers and to myself. Sometimes I get caught up in the administrative parts of my business...taxes, bills, supply orders, appointments...and I get caught up in deadlines and other responsibilities of being a custom commission based business. And in getting caught up in those aspects of my business, the real heart of what I do slips into the background.
I met with a long-time customer this week. She gets t-shirt quilts made for each of her children as they graduate from college, and I have had the honor of making two quilts previously for her, and making a third for her this year. This particular customer came to me based on a good friend’s recommendation. Her friend was also having t-shirt quilts made for her children as they graduated from college. I made two quilts myself for her, and I helped make two earlier quilts for her when I worked for Patchwork Memories. She and I had planned for me to make her youngest child’s quilt in 2019 when he graduated from college. I did what I usually do, and put her on my calendar to contact in February 2019, so that she could get in my graduation quilt line up. I emailed her in February, as promised, but I didn’t get a response. She had mentioned that her son might take a little extra time to graduate, so I didn’t think too much about it. I put a note to contact her later, and I thought about her this spring when I started thinking about graduation quilts in February.
When I met with her friend this week, she informed me that her friend had suddenly passed away a few years ago, and she asked me if the final quilt for her friend had been made. I told her I didn’t think so, but I would check my records to be sure. After our meeting I went back to look at my records, and found all that I said above about trying to contact her in February 2019. My customer who passed away was a wonderfully kind person, and her friend and I realized the importance of the quilts she had made for her children. Her friend is going to see if we can get the final quilt finished for her.
I often deal with the aftermath of death in my work. I work with grieving family members, and I have the honor of building and designing quilts to remember lost loved ones. Every year I make quilts for Carolina Donor Services from the quilt blocks families make to memorialize their loved ones who donated organs upon their death. I just delivered this year’s quilts last week. All of these quilts are so special and comforting. The Carolina Donor Services blocks always give me pause to think about the people missing from other people’s lives, but the blocks are always so joyful and full of life. Each block is lovingly put together by the family, and each one celebrates that life lost and the life given with the organ donation.
The quilts I made for my long-time client and her friend were quilts of joy, too ...moving from childhood and young adulthood to adulthood. These ladies saved shirts all through their children’s lives, and I was stunned and saddened to hear that my customer had died. However, I was also glad to know her children have a wonderful reminder of their mother’s love and joy in their accomplishments and lives. Each of their quilts show her love and care, and I feel glad to be able to be a part of that process. My long-time client and I will do our best to get that last quilt made if the family would like to have it done, and I will once again be reminded of how important the quilts I make can be for people.
Anniversary Quilt Update: I am still sewing and trimming blocks...how about you?
Have a great week. Remind your loved ones they matter. Stay safe.
Sending Quilting Love,
Ginger
Coming Next Week: Finished Half Square triangles? I really do hope so! :)
I am Reading: Elantris by Brandon Sanderson and Man in the Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucien Freud by Martin Gayford. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (unabridged) I am also reading various poetry. What are you reading? I would love to know!