Like You, Like Us
Guest Author: Judy Minami
Like you, on September 11, 2001 I was stunned and shocked as I watched in a wide-eyed trance the devastation in Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. It was so huge and so awful; it was like watching a movie (and believe me, that’s NOT my kind of movie!)
Like some of you, I was glued to the TV that week, waiting for the next important piece of news, almost afraid to miss something. I was exhausted mentally and physically from it, but I could not drag myself away.
Like many of you, when the individuals holding pictures of their missing loved ones were shown, and the reality of how many missing loved ones there were actually hit me, there were times, even away from the TV, when the tears would fall seemingly without a reason. There were more tears when I thought of the survivors and families of those who were lost having to deal with their grief and live their lives with a void where that mother, father, sister, brother, child, grandparent, aunt or uncle used to be.
Like many of you, I put up the flag outside the house, as did many of our neighbors. It helped me to feel I was embracing a symbol of the “united” in our United States.
There were so many people who needed help and I was so far away from the scenes of these tragedies. All of it was overwhelming and mind-boggling. Like many of you, I tried to think of something I could do to help. When I started thinking and focused on possibilities, a couple opportunities landed squarely on the path in front of me. One was a request from a friend to make a quilt top that others would make into a quilt for children who had lost their parents. I took that project on. It felt good to do something, and as a friend of mine said, “Working with our hands soothes us, and the simple acts of doing different kinds of needlework are almost necessary to some women.” I’m one of them. And like you, those are the things we often do to contribute in this kind of situation.
It’s not just during huge tragedies like this that we are able to share our caring, concern and skills. For those of us who sew, do needlework and/or quilt, there are so many opportunities from which to choose to help someone in need. At Heart to Hand, donations of quilts are accepted for Project Linus, Quilt Pink, and the Passage Quilt Project. There are times set up at the shop for you to come and sew with others toward a goal of making quilts for this project. The shop also accepts soft knitted, crocheted or sewn hats for children or adults going through chemotherapy. Although you may not receive a personal thank you from the recipients, rest assured that their gratitude is deep and heartfelt. I have worked with children who received a quilt and it became instantly special to them. It was sometimes the one thing in the hospital setting that was their very own at a time when so much had been taken from them, especially control of their situation. It could accompany them through every aspect of their sometimes long and painful treatments, even when parents or others could not. I have also known women and girls who have had the opportunity to try on and select a hat when they lost their hair from treatment. One little girl said it was the first time she felt like a “real girl” rather than a baldie who looked like a boy! These simple gifts can mean so much to the recipients.
One small quilt or a couple of hats might not be much for us to do, but in making these things, I, like you, am doing something to help. We are giving of ourselves to at least one person who needs it. It is good to remember that what we do IS making the world a kinder, gentler place, and somehow, at least for some people, it WILL change their future. One quilt or hat at a time, we are helping to change the world, and like us, quilters all over the world are doing the same. It’s something each of us can do; giving is something we can all do, no matter our age, sex or skill level. I believe we are also helping others to learn love by our example of giving and compassion. Helping out in tragedies large or small reminds us, too, to take what we know to heart and apply it in our own lives. Each person we know can use an extra hug, a kind word, or a loving act from us. Those are things you can’t overdo.
Like you will, if you haven’t already, I have found so many benefits to doing something for others, donating to these charities and people. It first gives us something to do at a time when we might not be able to do anything else for a victim or patient. It is a distraction from the obsession of gathering too much information and the mental exhaustion that can bring. The act of sewing for me is like salve for my wounds, mental or physical, and can be a comfort when I feel grief in situations where I might not otherwise be able to participate.
Like you, I know others personally or through someone else who could benefit from the gifts we can give. Like you, like all of us who made the choice and have the honor of being quilters or needleworkers, we have a way to help not only individuals, but collectively a way to change the world. To our skills and fabric we can each add pieces of love, kindness and caring that will be bound together into a quilt that will cover those in need with warmth, love, and peace.
(For more information on Project Linus, including links for free patterns for quilts, afgans, and even hats, go to www.projectlinus.org or ask at the shop.)
Judy teaches Coffee and Stitch, Beginning Quilting and Paper Piecing at the shop. She is an excellent teacher, friend and human being! Be sure to come meet her at one of her classes or gatherings!
Happy Day!
