Today, in honor of springtime finally arriving and the Easter and Passover holidays, we’re shining our Q.S.O.S. Spotlight on a story about the healing and comforting power of quilts from Millie Wark of Massachusetts. In her Q.S.O.S. interview, Millie shared a story about a quilt she made and the warmth it brought:

“Well, the story begins at our Baptist church. For quite a few years, in March before Easter, we always had one weekend called, “Give God the Glory.” We would all try to make a new quilt every year, because we brought those all in. They were draped all over the church, all over the balcony, all over the church not only our quilting but the men with their woodworking and things that people did because we wanted to give God the glory and show what He had done through us. Well this was about the third year that we had participated in this. For some reason, I had decided, I had seen these puffs quilts. I made this huge puffy, puffy quilt and brought it in. As it happened, I put it over like a Queen Anne chair. Well in our midst, one of our families had a 16-year old daughter that we’d all loved dearly, but she had become very anorexic. She had been to many counselors. They had worked and worked with her. Well when she saw that quilt, she walked in the first time, she just landed on that quilt and cuddled up almost in a fetal position. She just, almost like she wanted to get right inside of that quilt. For the three days that we had it there, whenever they came, she didn’t come into the sanctuary. You would miss her and she was out cuddled up in that quilt. So when it came time to take them home, I said to her mother, ‘I want her to have that quilt.’ And it just amazed me because they said that at home it just seemed to give her such peace. That’s the way she looked. She cuddled up on that quilt in such a peace. I like to feel that the comfort that she had from that, eventually she started eating the way she should again and now she’s, I think she’s graduated from college already. She is a fine, healthy young woman. When I see her and think about it, I think, you know maybe it was the love that she got from that quilt helped her to heal. So I’m just so, when we gave God the glory for that weekend and when I think of that, I really do, I just thank God that I was able to make a little difference in her life.”

You can read more quilt stories on the Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories page on the Quilt Alliance website.

Posted by Emma Parker
Project Manager, Quilters’ S.O.S.- Save Our Stories
qsos@quiltalliance.org