The origin of Danny's quilt

Last month my husband was watching the news while I checked my email. Personally I prefer my news in the form of a black and white newspaper. Watching news on the tv is often overwhelming because I can't get images out of my mind.

I think I was meant to overhear the news that night. I heard of a tragedy that struck a young man. Something I can't imagine having to learn to shoulder, ever, much less at such a young age. My very first thought as I sat there crying was 'This man needs a quilt'.

To this day it still shocks me that I would think that. Let me give you a simple idea of what a quilt is and you'll see why.

A quilt is made of blocks. A block is made of piece or pieces of fabric sewn together. There are 1000s of blocks to choose from and blocks can be any size.

A friend of mine once said that a quilt is 3 layers sandwiched together. That's true. So making a quilt should be a piece of cake. Right? Wrong!

All the blocks are joined together leaving you with quilt top. It's beautiful but not at all functional. Try to use it and likely the seams will rip. It's also not very warm. That's why you need the middle layer - the batting. Add a piece of material to the back and you've got all your layers of the quilt.

Getting it all together and looking good is a lot more complex than you might think. I have yet to complete an entire quilt by myself in the 6 months I've been quilting.

So why would I want to make a quilt for a man I've never met? The truest answer is because I am a woman, and a mother. I know what pain is and I know what comfort is. I also tend to follow my 'gut', my intuition. It's never steered me wrong. I believed this quilt was possible and it's been a realistic goal from day one.

I strongly believe in the power of women to effect positive change in our world. Quilting is one of the many ways to accomplish this.

I sent an email to a quilting group and called a friend of mine locally. Within three days, only 72 hours, we were a group of 12 women working toward one goal - to get a quilt to a man who needed comfort. We want him to know we wish him well in his healing process.

Think about that. Only 72 hours. That's hardly no time at all. I sent out a call for help and 11 people jumped in with offers to donate supplies, money and quilt blocks.

Remember, I find the actual quilting process still somewhat daunting. It's certainly harder than it looks and one needs time to develop all the skills needed to make a beautiful quilt. These amazing women, 10 of whom I've never met, took the burden of worry from me. Everyone's contribution is what makes the goal reachable. Once I knew I had quilters to contribute blocks and a quilter to actually quilt the 3 layers together I could relax.

A tragedy that is so horrible for one man has become something that has shown me how wonderful humans can be. Life is like that sometimes, really unfathomable.

And thus, this blog is born. This kindness and the efforts of these women should not just pass by like yesterday's weather report. They should be preserved and celebrated.

Thank you Dale Anne, Lorraine, Judy, Sherri, Doreen, Janet, Elizabeth, Kathleen, Agnes, Debra and Gerene for reminding me of one of my favourite quotes.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead