Sometimes life can throw you a wrench and you don't know why, but you have to deal with it. At Christmas time my friend Nancy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. That wasn't a very nice gift for her to receive, but nonetheless the facts were there. She is now going through chemo and battling this horrible cancer and shows such a strong faith and belief in God.
A friend suggested, when we first found out Nancy's diagnosis, that we do some sort of stitchery blocks to be incorporated into a quilt to let her know we were thinking of her. I thought that was a great idea but that we should include more than just our small group. I cut fabric into 6" blocks and started having people sign the blocks with a permanent pen (not enough hours in the day to embroider all of them). These were people that Nancy knew from different groups she belonged to, neighbors, friends, and some she didn't even know but who wanted to contribute to the quilt. My two granddaughters even made blocks. I then took all the blocks and added several different blue fabrics (Nancy's favorite color) and created a quilt. This quilt was meant for Nancy to know how many people loved her and were praying for her and hopefully one that she could carry to her chemo sessions and wrap up in.
A group of us got together and went to visit Nancy and deliver the quilt. She has no idea what she's about to pull out of that bag.
She was trying to read all the blocks and sentiments and was so overcome with emotion.
I believe she was surprised at how many people had created blocks and how many people were sending her good wishes to beat the cancer.
As a result of that quilt, Nancy asked if other people could sign the quilt. I told her there wasn't much room, but certainly. It was her quilt to do with as she saw fit. Then I suggested, after hearing how many more people she wanted to sign, that we do another quilt. So Nancy has more blocks, has been gathering lots of messages and we will soon make a trip to a quilt shop together to pick out her new fabrics. She said she wants to add some yellow fabric to the next quilt. I can't wait to create the next, and maybe the next and even a next quilt for my sweet friend!
