Kevin died in his sleep 6 months ago when he was 31. His family - his mother, his father, his brothers, his niece, his nephew - is grieving. This first year of missing Kevin is painful. The family has gone through a Thanksgiving without him as well as what would have been Kevin's 32nd birthday. Now this anguished family faces their first Christmas without him.
Kevin's mother Lynita is a woman I did a quilt for over 5 years ago. Before I did her
wall quilt, she had just seen a t-shirt quilt that I completed. So now, years later, our paths are crossed, under the saddest of circumstances. She gave me Kevin's clothes and suggested wall hangings for her family. Her son Adam and Lynita spent an hour with me in the studio, articulating which shirts/pieces should go in which quilt and what colors/fabrics I could use as sashing and borders.
Adam and his brother David both have wall hangings that are 35" x 60."


Kevin's father, his niece, and his nephew all have hangings that are 24" x 24."



Lynita's is 24" x 48".

Grieving is a process that lasts a lifetime. And there are so many paths to grief recovery. I admire Lynita for helping her family identify a way that they can not only grieve for Kevin's death but also for helping her family - and herself - find a way to commemorate Kevin's life. Kevin will be present Christmas Day.