I thought I would like to chime in here for just a moment to let some of you know the long term "after effects" (if you will) of an unexpected Hug Quilt. (Hope you don't mind my sharing my thoughts.)
Some of you may remember that I lost DSis about 5½ years ago to Leukemia. As she was single and also a single parent, during her illness, I was her "significant other" in essence, helping her with medical decisions, powers of atty, guardianship arrangements, etc. She survived her initial diagnosis for only 9 months. Once she passed, as the oldest of the sibs, all the work fell to me to organize guardianships for her 4 minor kids, final arrangements, settle her affairs, and on and on. I was a fairly active member of a guild in CA, but my real connections to other quilters came through the 3-day retreats held in Buellton by a certain fabric shop there. (If you've been, you know where I'm talking about.) The retreats were a blast, attended by many local guild members, as well as lots of friends from all over. I considered these women to be my "quilting confidants", and some of the "drama" from DSis's situation interfered from time to time with my
3-day retreats. If there were ever a time that I needed to "get away from it all", those retreats were it and that gave me sanity. I truly considered these women my friends, but I never expected them to Hug me!A few months after my DS passed away, I was at our monthly guild meeting and, during show and tell, the store owner (also a guild member) introduced a lovely quilt that had recently been completed. She was talking about how one of the guild members was going through a difficult time and needed to know that she had the support of her friends. Funny thing is that I had not remembered the guild sponsoring hug quilts before, but I brushed that off, something new, I though. Then the title caught my attention, it was called "Embracing Lorraine", and all the attendees turned to look at me as the quilt was handed to ME! Talk about shocked! I lost it and broke into immediate sobbing tears. Behind my back, and frequently literally right under my nose during retreats (!), the retreat/guild members had been working on a hug for me. Now, keep in mind, as the oldest sib in this situation, I was the "rock" to everyone in my family. I had to be tough, and strong, and organized and and and....... It had never dawned on my that I could use a little TLC myself. Their selfless kindness was not a surprise to me, these were great people, but I never expected to be on the receiving end of such love and thoughtfulness.
So, I am the proud recipient of this lovely hug quilt. It hangs in my home and I see it every day. Every time it catches my eye, I get little floods of warm friendship, I remember good things about my sister, and I use it to proudly show my 7 yo niece/daughter (DS's youngest) that she has a touchable memory of people that cared about her loss of her mom. We unfortunately lost one of our more creative guild members about a year later and I am lucky enough to have one of her blocks in my quilt. Her work continues to inspire me and the block reminds me of her regularly. Once in a while, I will just look again at the signatures and get little snippets of memories of times with each of the ladies. This wonderful quilt just keeps on giving, every single day and I feel fortunate to have such a gift from folks who cared.
So, why am I telling you all this. I don't know. DSis's birthday is Saturday and she has been on my mind a lot lately, as she always is at this time of year. The discussion of Hug Quilts got me thinking about how I felt when I was lucky enough to be hugged. I am still surprised to know that such busy and creative people took some of their time to show me that I was not alone.
If you EVER get the opportunity to participate in a Hug, I urge you to do so. The time that you spend will be returned for years over in the good feelings the recipient will get.
Ok, that's all. HAGD Lorraine in WA