We are very excited to announce and honor our 2019 Hopes & Dreams Sew Popular 1st place winner. Charlotte's quilt received the most votes by the public followed by two other finalists.
We remember when Charlotte's quilt came into our office. Along with her unique quilt, was the most touching letter for which she explains how she came up with the idea of her quilt.
Thank you Charlotte for supporting Hopes & Dreams as well as sharing your story.
July 1, 2019
My name is Charlotte Harrison and I live in Owasso Oklahoma
on a fly in community where people live with their airplanes in hangers in the
back yard. It’s a very close community and we socialize often. I have a
quilting group that meets in my shop in my hangar every Tuesday.
A little over 8 months ago on October 18th my
best friend’s husband was diagnosed with ALS. Two days later on October 20th
my husband was flying when he suffered a heart attack. He was able to land
safely and taxi back to our hangar and call me. He was rushed to the hospital
and then the Cath lab where they out a stent in his heart to correct a 100%
blockage. He was shocked back to life twice during this ordeal. After, he
recovered quickly and recently “graduated” from his cardiac rehab program and
he was back to his wonderful self.
In the meantime, our hearts were aching for our friends
Jackie and Nick King who were dealing with the diagnosis of ALS. Being a
quilter, I wanted to do something to express my grief and searching on the internet
led me to your website. I also happen to be chairman of our guild
charity quilts program so it was like it was meant to be.
I wrote to you at that time on messenger for information
which you gladly sent. After that, I kept waking up with visions of this quilt
in my head. Night after night, same dream a little different each night until
finally I just got out of bed and sketched it. The quilting lines running
across the quilt represent life as usual just flowing along and the colorful
pieces darkening and falling until they are all black and in a box with a still
beating heart represent the parts of the ALS patient as they fail until the
person is alone in the ”glass coffin” of ALS.
I finished the quilt a few weeks ago and took it to show my
friend before shipping it to you. He cried and said he totally understood
without explanation and it was exactly how he felt. He asked if he could keep
it and I said absolutely but wanted to show it at the guild meeting and would
bring it back.
Then, June 15th my husband slipped and fell and
hit his head. Because of the blood thinners required for the stent in his
heart, he had a subdural hematoma which required surgery that night. He was
recovering nicely for several days then had some complications, but doctors were
still optimistic and we were hopeful.
On Sunday, June 23th, our friend Nicky King
passed away from ALS at 6:45 in the evening and the following day, Monday June
24th, the love of my life left me to be with his best friend. I
truly believe God spared him in October so he could help his friend and all of
us in this community get through the past 8 months.
All of our labels on our guild’s quilts and on mine say in
honor of Nicky King but they are now in Memory of Nicky King. I am not the
greatest quilter by a long shot but I do hope my interpretation of the journey
of the ALS patient raises some funds for ALS research.
Sincerely,
Charlotte
Harrison
You can purchase Charlotte's quilt and many other quilts donated to the Hopes and Dreams Quilt Challenge on our ETSY page. 100% of all quilt sales goes towards ALS research in hope to find a cure!
Happy Fall
ReplyDeleteWhat a touching story. Quilters know best how to express their feeling and emotions... through quiltmaking.
ReplyDelete