Quilting: A Philosophical Journey-To Help Someone Heal

Heather and Julie have been best friends since they were in elementary school.  As they are both married with teenage kids of their own and working full time jobs, their lives are super busy.  However, they do still find time, every couple of weeks, to have a dinner date with usually just the two of them.  At the last dinner date, Julie shared that she had been diagnosed with cancer and would be starting Chemotherapy very soon.   Of course, Heather will be by her best friend’s side.  Of course, she will hold her hand, support her as she needs, and tell her every day how much she loves her.  But Heather wanted to do something more.  She decided to make Julie a quilt that she could use while she went through her treatment.  Heather finished the quilt a few days after Julie began her treatments. 

On the evening that they normally would have had their BFF Dinner Date, she decided to make a stop over to Julie’s house with the quilt.  As she was approaching Julie’s front door, Heather started to feel a bit apprehensive.  This would be the first time she would see her friend since she told her about the diagnosis and started her treatments.  She wasn’t sure what she would see or exactly what Julie would look like.  But, she knew that Julie would appreciate seeing her friend.  This visit was for Julie, and that was all that mattered, in Heather’s mind.  Heather pulled herself together and rang the doorbell.  Dan, Julie’s husband, answered the door with a gracious smile, and invited her in.  As Heather was walking through the door, Dan told her that Julie was in the living room resting on the couch.

When Heather walked into the room, Julie smiled and told Heather that she was so happy to see her.  Heather could see through Julie’s eyes, that she was being completely sincere.  However, she looked so tired and drained.  Heather thought a second in her head that she has never seen Julie like this and empathy filled her heart.  They sat and talked a while about how Julie was doing and how the treatments were going.  Heather then offered some distraction by telling Julie all the crazy things that have been happening in her own life.  They laughed, they cried, and they hugged.  Finally, Heather stated that she had brought Julie a gift and pulled out the quilt.  As Julie took the quilt from Heather, tears began to welt in her eyes.  She just couldn’t believe that Heather had made something so beautiful for her.  She was so overwhelmed and said, “This is so beautiful and I will hang it across the stair banisters for everyone to see.”  Heather replied, “Oh, no.  I made this for you to use.  This is something I made from my heart to yours, and hope that will give you comfort and warmth during this journey.”  Julie carried that quilt to every treatment and used it at home every day.  Julie, who is now in remission, states that it brought her comfort, hope, and made her feel loved.

This is why some of us make quilts.  It is to give comfort, hope, and love for those that are healing.  When we have friends or family that are going through some sort of illness or grieving over a loss, we can feel helpless.  But, as quilters, we can help.  We give a piece of our hearts with a labor of love.  And to be completely honest, it not only can help the one that is suffering, but it can also help the maker.  When you give your homemade quilt to them and you see the gratitude or how you touched their heart, your own heart sings with love and joy.

Taking a different perspective on making quilts to help heal, it can also be a restorative activity.  For example, someone who has had a stroke can use quilting as a way to restore their mobility.  Quilting offers many different kinds of processes that someone can use at different times of their recovery.  At the beginning, they may be only able to pick out fabric by reaching for their selected fabric.  However, with rehab, patience, and possibly having to learn new ways to do things, it is conceivable for some to be able to make quilting a part of their lives.  Quilting can be a restorative activity in so many ways, as it offers repetitive motions, focus, intentional movements, and various cognitive skills.  One could get extremely creative with this idea for many different reasons.

For those that make quilts to help heal, I find you utterly inspiring!  Thank you for sharing you and making our world a better place by touching those with a healing hand.

Until next time, may you continue to be inspired, productive, and joyful!  And never stop making your dreams in quilting come true!

-Angel

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