Quilting and Patchwork

Quilting in Times of Sadness

by Mary Emma Allen on June 24th, 2006

During times of sadness quilters often find themselves turning to quilting.  When my mom was in the nursing home, I’d bring my writing.  A friend did her knitting when she sat with her mother.  Sometimes I also sat and quilted and Mother, whenever she realized what I was doing (she was afflicted with Alzheimer’s), would talk about her Cousin Virgilia, who made doll clothes as a young girl and sewed quilt squares, too.

Whenever times of sadness, confusion, frustration occur, quilting often can help bring us comfort.  My daughter took up quilting again when her husband was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.  This was her stress reliever and opened up the world of quilting for her where she now is designing and entering contests.

Quilting can bring comfort to the quilter as well as the one observing, as it did to my mother when she reminisced.  She often told me about her cousin.  Imagine my pleasure when I hold an old letter from Cousin Virgilia written to my mom, relating her young sewing days.  I know then that my mom’s reminiscenses weren’t simply the wanderings of an Alzheimer’s mind, but memories brought to mind while I quilted to relieve sadness and find comfort for both of us. 

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POSTED IN: General Quilting/Patchwork, Memories