My brother Doug was 15 years younger than me, and he died March 19. He was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer in July 2020. We knew his death would likely happen before the rest of us. Still, the impact of his passing is profound. While sewing rhythm was disrupted with visits, it picked up speed during his final days while my brother and sister, along with Doug’s wife, daughter and friends, tended his bedside. The studio became a guest room. For future reference, I am not very good bedside.
I was thankful I had this project - a Sloan Travel Bag by Sew Sweetness - to work on for my granddaughter. It's a complex bag with outer pockets, inner pockets, and a zippered top. Preparation and assembly require total concentration, a good thing. Nikki likes warm and light neutrals so this bag was a challenge and a departure from my cool highly-contrasting palette. I’m very happy with it.
While there were many hospital and home visits and sibling sleepovers, nightly I returned to my hand-quilting project, Shuttle by Glad Hand Sews. My limited palette belies the beauty of this quilt pattern. I should say that nightly I had to return to this project. I get even twitchier if I don’t have another project for hand quilting in my queue. I finished this one just before Doug died. And immediately I moved on the next quilt.
My low-volume hexagon quilt was already pin-basted. Starting with an off-center spiral pattern lets me work on automatic pilot. I started hand-quilting as my parents were dying, after my mom’s death I found the rhythm of the stitching soothing. I still do. I will mourn Doug as I finish this quilt and will continue to mourn him in the next project. And the next. And these stitchings soothe my soul.
