Friday, May 13, 2011

Bloggers' Quilt Festival - Hope!

Many of you will have already read about the quilt I’m going to share today, and I thank you for letting me share this story once again.  When I was looking through last year’s quilts to see which one I wanted to put in the Blogger’s Quilt Festival, this one stood out to me - not as the most interesting quilt I made, but certainly as the one with the best story.  And every quilt should tell a story, I think.   This quilt will always remind me of why I love being able to do what I do....

This quilt has a great story.....  A couple of days after Christmas, I received a package of blocks from Diane over at Life Scraps containing some pretty pink and green blocks and block kits, and some purple scraps that she was donating to our church's quilt ministry.  When I e-mailed her to let her know they had arrived, she told me that the purple scraps were originally intended to be made up in another rendition of this quilt, but she decided she didn't want to make the same quilt twice.  So I put the scraps in a bag with the intention of making up her pretty squares quilt sometime in the future.
Cut now to the second week in January.   I got an e-mail from a friend at church asking us to make a quilt for Savannah, a ten-year old girl with cancer - she has been battling it a long time and just got some unfavorable test results.  Anyway, I e-mailed her back and asked her if she knew anything about the Savannah's color preferences or likes and dislikes, and she told me she'd see what she could find out and get back to me.  

The next morning, we woke up to lots of snow and no travel because the roads were so bad.  Faced with a toddler-less day and a sewing machine, I headed upstairs to my studio to work on some old projects!  After I finished one, I checked the computer to see if my friend had e-mailed me with any more info on the little girl.  Nothing there.  So I decided to go ahead and work with the purple fabrics, and if it didn't work for Savannah, we'd just give the quilt to someone else.  I worked on it all afternoon, adding a few purple fabrics I had and some white fabric, and got 30 blocks done for the center of the quilt.  
Still no information from my friend, but it occurred to me that Savannah might have a Caring Bridge webpage, so I checked, and lo and behold, she did!  I went in to her photo section to see if I could tell anything about her favorite colors - - - and her entire bedroom is decorated in purples and apple green!!  So I went ahead and finished the quilt top, knowing that this little girl's quilt had been determined long before I even heard about her!  

I even found a piece of white and purple print in my stash that would work, colorwise, with the front of the quilt - but I was worried about it being too traditional compared to the contemporary front.  I took it to church to show some of my fellow quilters to get their read on it, and happened to run into Keri, a good friend of Savannah and her family.  Keri saw the fabric and without my even mentioning it, asked if it would be part of her quilt - because it had butterflies on it, and butterflies are Savannah's favorites!

I named this quilt "Hope" - and the name is worked into the quilting on one of the blocks.  Our prayer was for it to bring Savannah hope every day!

But working with our quilt ministry, one of the hardest things we have to accept is that sometimes the recipients of our quilts don't survive the illness that brought them to our attention.  It's so hard - even if we don't know the person personally, they become part of our own little world as we make the quilt for them and pray for them.  See that beautiful smile right over there?  Sweet Savannah went home in March, and is dancing with the angels now.  She touched so many lives while she was here - there are green bows all over town in her honor, put up months ago in support of her fight against cancer.   

Recently a group of us were sewing on some quilts, and one of the staff members at church came in to tell us that when hospice was called in, Savannah asked that the quilt we made be put on her bed.  She also asked that the quilt go with her body to the funeral home when it was time.  Her family brought the quilt home after the funeral, and hopefully it will continue to provide comfort for many years to come.   
The fabric for this quilt was donated by a fellow quilt blogger.  Unknowingly, she sent the perfect fabric for this little girl's quilt at just the right time.  Thankfully, we have a Father who watches over us all the time and provides for our needs.  Every day, working with this quilt ministry, I am reminded of that fact.  I'm grateful to have been a small part of Savannah's story, and I'm grateful for what she taught me about God's love through her life. 




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Thanks again for allowing me to share this story, once again.  
Be sure to go check out all the other wonderful quilts,
each with their own story,

38 comments:

  1. The story of Savannah's quilt made me cry and also smile as it is evidence of the Lord's love for us that everything worked out smoothly when you were making the quilt and that the family have something so special to that lovely little girl to cuddle up with whenever they need it. Thank you for sharing it and may God bless you always.

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  2. I remember this story Sarah and I am so HAPPY that you decided to share it with us again through the Blogger's Quilt Festival:) I am sure that little girl is smiling down on you now:)

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  3. You touched my heart with your story, thank you so very much for sharing it and Savannah's beautiful quilt.

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  4. A great quilt with a great story so lovingly shared with all on the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Thank you Sarah, for the quilt, the story and all you do.

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  5. Sarah, this is a perfect quilt to showcase!! The story is wonderful! I loved this quilt when you shared it the first time and still want to recreate my own!

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  6. Wonderful quilt story. That has to be a hard quilt ministry when you lose people! Thanks for keeping at it.

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  7. Beautiful story and the quilt was perfect.

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  8. oh wow, this beautiful quilt just jumped out at me from BQF. And the story just grabbed my heart. So wonderful of you to share.

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  9. What a beautiful story. I wonder how many times the quilts we make arrive in someone's life at the perfect time? The quilt was awesome.

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  10. What a great quilt and a wonderful story. Thanks for sharing it.

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  11. Your story is so touching. Thank you for being a loving soul and for brightening Savannah's short life.

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  12. The quilt is very nice, but the story is incredibly moving.

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  13. blessings to all involved in making Savannah and family more comfortable.

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  14. What a beautiful quilt...front and back. The story is so poignant. Yes, Heavenly Father loves us and sends others to be our angels her on earth. You are definitely one of those! Thanks so much for sharing and have a great day ( purple is my favorite color too!)

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  15. What a beautiful story.
    the cuddles and warmth that a quilt can give is amazing!

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  16. Your quilt is beautiful and so is the story behind it!

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  17. What a beautiful quilt for a beautiful little girl, your story has me in floods of tears. May she enjoy her quilt for eternity

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  18. Wow, what a nice story. Sad, but its also nice to hear how much comfort a quilt really can bring to a person. Really touching. Thanks for sharing

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  19. A beautiful quilt - beautiful little girl - I have a quilt story like this too, it breaks your heart. But it's part of why we do what we do. I know it brought Savannah comfort, bless you for making that for her, and for your ministry.

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  20. Great story. Thanks so much for sharing. Isn't it interesting how a rewarding hobby like quilting can touch so many lives?

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  21. I love this quilt & the story as well.

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  22. seriously, that just made me a little teary eyed. you are an amazing person and quilter!

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  23. That is a beautiful and loving story. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  24. beautiful quilt. You are blessing people with what you do!

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  25. As I learned many years ago, God's timing is perfect. Thanks for sharing such a sweet story and a beautiful quilt.

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  26. What a touching story. Thank you for sharing.

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  27. Thank you for sharing a beautiful story and a lovely quilt.

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  28. A beautiful moving story and a pretty quilt.

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  29. Thank you for sharing this story. Bless you for all you do!!!

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  30. Lovely (sad) story which makes this quilt all the more special. Quilting can be a wonderful ministry.

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  31. A sad story but very touching. Thank you for sharing.

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  32. Beautiful quilt and a touching story. Thank you for sharing.

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  33. I love purple color. Beautiful quilt!

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  34. What a wonderful story!! It is amazing how everything seems to just fall into place sometimes isn't it? It sounds like the quilt brought a lot of comfort to Savannah and I am sure the family still gets a lot of comfort from it. Thanks for sharing your quilt and your story.

    Cheers!
    Rachel
    http://www.dewberrylane.com

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  35. What a touching story & beautiful quilt. Thank you for sharing & for being so kind.

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  36. That is such a heartfelt quilt! There is just something so beautiful and warming about a quilt - it's like the time that is put into the quilt can be felt every time to user uses it! beautiful quilt, beautiful story, beautiful little girl.

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  37. A beautiful quilt with a baeutiful story. I am glad you were able to give Savanah hope for a little while.

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Comments make me smile!! If you want a PDF of a pattern, PLEASE leave your email address in your comment, or email me directly at salliesue57 (at) gmail (dot) com!