Tuesday, September 11, started like any other day. I woke up, exercised, showered and dressed, ate breakfast, dressed my three year old son and left for work. When we turned on the car radio, it was then that my husband and I became aware of the terrible tragedy unfolding on the east coast. The first statement that we heard was a report that the second tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan had just collapsed. We were stunned and shocked. My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as well as those on the aircraft that crashed in Pennsylvania.

A group of quilters online has decided to organize a national drive for quilts to send to the families of the victims. For more information, please visit the National Quilt Drive website. The deadline is October 11, 2001. Quilts may seem trivial at a time like this, but they help a great deal in the grieving process and inject a ray of hope into a situation that is very bleak. They are a tangible expression of love and concern and may help soothe a tortured soul. Please, won´t you help if you can?

When people die, those left behind endeavor to honor their memory by creating durable reminders such as gravestones, monuments, even something as simple as flowers by the roadside. During the past two centuries, quilts have been made in honor of those who have died. Through making quilts or quilt blocks, the grieving individuals are given the opportunity to honor the memory of those close to them as well as a physical and tangible expression of their grief. This quilt in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution made in 1842, symbolizes a tomb stone and displays the name, date of death and age of the deceased. Quilts were also used during the nineteenth century to lay atop coffins during burial ceremonies. As a result of her own grief after unexpectedly losing her father, quilter Linda Carlson designed a series of Casket/Memorial quilt patterns that can be used in the same fashion.

Another tragic situation that provokes an outpouring of love and caring through the medium of quilt making is breast cancer. I have read a number of stories where people learn that someone close to them has breast cancer and a quilt is made for the ill person. This quilt surrounds the person with love and demonstrates to them how much others care - it can be a great source of comfort during a trying and difficult time. To read more about quilting and breast cancer, please read this article that I wrote last year.

Quilts can also memorialize tragic events experienced by a number of people. These are often composed of a collection of blocks made by individuals to represent a person in their life affected by the event. One of the most prominent and well-known memorial quilts of this type is the AIDs Quilt. The idea of the quilt was first conceived by Cleve Jones in November of 1985. The blocks are large, 3 feet by 6 feet, and each one is lovingly made in memory of people who have died of AIDs. Since it was first displayed on the Mall in Washington D.C. on October 11, 1987, it has travelled around the world. Currently, the number of blocks exceeds 44,000. It is a compelling tribute to those who have lost their lives to this disease.

In 1998, Kimberly Hamilton, a student at Syracuse University was named Remembrance Scholar and decided to memorialize the 35 Syracuse students who lost their lives in the bombing of PanAm Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988 with a quilt made of up blocks representing each of the students. The central panel depicts a white dove surrounded by the names of the victims and is bordered on all sides by the blocks. Each block is personalized with material and keepsakes furnished by the families. A more complete story about how this quilt was designed and constructed can be read here. To see the quilt please visit the Remembrance Quilt website hosted by Syracuse University. One quote that particularly struck me was Kimberly´s statement the she wanted "people to see it as a celebration of who these students were. I think people often forget that each of these students was somebody´s daughter or sister or best friend. I think this quilt helps bring that idea home, and I hope it helps people cherish life in a new way."

Following heartbreaking events, quilters across the nation and around the world often express their sorrow and sympathy through the donation of quilt blocks. Even though they rarely know the individual people affected, they reach out in a caring way to show their concern for others. After an Oregon community was torn apart by a shooting at Thurston High School on May 21, 1998 that killed two students and injured more than 20 others, Springfield resident Esther Hunter started the Thurston Healing Quilt project and collected more than 500 blocks from across the nation. The quilt serves as a tragic reminder of the result of violence.

Another school shooting, this time in Colorado, at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 was the catalyst for two more quilts. The Columbine Healing Quilt was made up of 270 cross stitched blocks. The Columbine Quilt was organized by Carol Lanzkron. Over 200 pieced blocks were donated.

Tragedy struck again on October 12, 2000 when the USS Cole was attacked by terrorists in Yemen. The bomb took the lives of seventeen servicemen and injured 40 others. Shortly afterward, Sandy Guilbeaux asked fellow quilters at America Online to send her quilt blocks so that she could make quilts to comfort the parents of the military personnel that were killed. Her original plan was to make seventeen wallhangings. What she ended up with was enough blocks to make large quilts for all seventeen mothers, seven spouses, and the 40 people who were injured. In addition a local man hand painted 17 USS Cole ships on fabric with each victim’s name and Navy that were made into wall hangings for the fathers. In all, there were 81 quilts constructed. Here you can read an excerpt of a letter that Sandy mailed with each quilt. To see a number of the completed quilts, click here.

Another poignant example of a memorial quilt is the National Donor Family Quilt: Patches of Love. Over 1400 families have contributed an eight inch block commemorating those who have given the Gift of Life through organ donation.

The collective effort of these quilts aptly demonstrates the true meaning of humanity and compassion. Over the past few days, we have seen ample evidence of this pulling together of the human spirit as people donate money or wait for hours to give blood. The road ahead of us is long and painful, but we shall overcome.

God Bless America

If you have any suggestions or comments, please email me!