Day 10 of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month - My Quilting Bees Took the Sting Out!

Today, I want to pause and share something I’m deeply thankful for: quilting and the people I've sewn and quilted with over the past 25 years.

During the hardest years of Ryan’s cancer journey, quilting became more than fabric and thread. Really, it was my therapy, my quiet space, my way of stitching hope when life felt like it was unraveling, every second of every day, especially in the early years. I even brought my Singer Featherweight sewing machine to Georgetown University Hospital and blew out every fuse in our hospital room!

You know, every quilt I’ve made carries stories, love, and prayers inside its seams. My readers of my blog are the first to know this little "secret." Some were for Ryan, some for families we’ve met along the way, and others went out into the world to wrap children and parents in comfort (another story of those epic travels to spread love in the form of a cuddly quilt).

But it wasn’t just the creative side that sustained me; it was the people. During some dark days, my quilting bee and guild ladies called me, made quilts for Ryan and our family, kept me laughing, and reminded me that life could still hold joy. I also wanted to hear about their projects and their families. They were definitely part of the medicine I needed as a compassionate caregiver, whether Ryan was little or grown, through years of extremely tough treatments and experiences.

This morning I had breakfast with my quilting bee friends, and tonight we’re going together to see the premiere of the last Downton Abbey movie. Simple things, yes, but breakfast and movies can help in ways you might not expect. Sometimes, they’re just as healing as a finished quilt.

That’s the magic of hobbies! They rock! They have the power to take the sting out of the most challenging moments. When I’m creating or even just imagining new projects, colors, fabrics, or patterns, my brain shifts into a different gear. The dopamine and serotonin start flowing, and suddenly, I feel lighter, stronger, and more able to keep going, which is even evident in my day-to-day life today.

My bees (The Be-Attitudes, Possibilibees, and Just Sew Bee (JSB) truly did take the sting out of so much heartache. What began as fabric and thread grew into friendships and healing. Quilting carried me through this journey, and it continues to hold me steady today.

Hobbies rock. They can lift us, heal us, and remind us that beauty still exists even in the most challenging times. Quilting did that for me.” 💛 #GoGold.

Terri

Quilting Gratitude with my bees and quilt guild.

Photos: L-R: The Bee-Attitudes; Quilting with M&M in Harthorne, Florida, 2024 with local bee-mates, Susie Stevenson and Deb Hoppe, and a Christmas Quilt I made for my daughter Olivia and her husband Bo in 2023.

Photos: L-R: Bee at Susie's with me, Susie, Debbi Carter, and Deb Hoppe; Bee at Janet's with Cappy, Carry, Susie, and Shelly; Terri on Retreat.