Quilt #63 Allison Chase donated by Cherie Johnson and Stacey Tate

Just a few of the many sisters who have blessed by Allison Chase

Quilt #63 was gifted to Allison Chase by Cherie Johnson and Stacey Tate.

Allison and her family are leaving the island and once again we say Aloha Oe to a beautiful woman who has touched our lives and inspired us with her selflessness.

During her few years here on the island, she has shown us how to serve others. Always willing to prepare a meal, help clean a home and most important of all, watch a very special four legged friend.

Allison served as the Young Women's President during her time here. I was always impressed with her desire to love and foster inclusion. She deeply cared for the young women in our ward and they loved and respected her for her caring and powerful testimony.

We wish her and her family the best on their next duty assignment and wanted to send her with a tangible reminder of Hawaii.  The love is in the stitches....

The beautiful card drawn by Cherie

I think Keiko knew where this was
going.  She wouldn't stay off.

Quilt #62 Heather Holt donated by Barbara Holt

Quilt # 62 was presented to Heather Holt by her mother Barbara Holt. 

Barbara writes:

I love the straight line quilting on this quilt

"Quilt 62 was made for Heather Holt who is my favorite daughter.  She graduated from the University of Utah on May 2 after working hard full time and going to school part time.  We are so proud of her efforts and perseverance.  She will be leaving Utah for Denver, Colorado in a few weeks to begin a new chapter there working and saving to attend graduate school for a degree in physical therapy.  She is one of the smartest and most beautiful people I know, both inside and outside.  It’s appropriate she wanted a quilt with a star pattern because it exemplifies her life.  She is a bright and shining light to all who know her.  We wish her all the very best in her new endeavors.  The love is in the stitches."

We wish Heather the very best as she begins this new chaper in her life..

Quilt #61 Kiersten and Morgan Hannig donated by Barbara Holt

Barbara Holt who made this beautiful quilt writes:

A quilt with happy news!  My niece Kiersten Schloer was married on June 2, 2018 to Morgan Hannig in beautiful Erda, Utah.  It was a perfect day with lots of family and friends gathered to wish the new couple well as they begin their journey together.  Kiersten’s favorite color is light blue and I hope she will cherish and use this quilt often.  The love is in the stitches!

I add my love and best wishes to this beautiful couple.

I love the quilting on this one

Quilt #60 Bentley Rana donated by Hickham Charity Quilting Cooperative

Quilt #60 was presented to Bentley Rana and was nominated by my dear friend Dorene. Bentley is an adorable, spunky, courageous little guy who was born with congenital Cytomagalovirus or CMV. I had never hear of this before but I have come to understand that this virus is carried by most of us but becomes dangerous when passed to a pregnant woman. And while most babies appear healthy at birth, they later develop all kinds of immune and developmental challenges.

While I have never met Bentley in person, I have started to follow his Facebook page. He and his caregivers are incredible people. You can see the love, caring and commitment Bentley's family has for him. And let's face it, this kid rocks!

We are the same age. I want blue hair too.

The quilt was sewn by my generous quilt friend and mentor Kay. I am so grateful for her donations, especially in times when I am sewing a little slower than usual.

If you would like more information about CMV, google the National CMV Foundation.

Upon receiving the quilt, Bentley's family responded "We are so grateful to be thought of and become a part of a beautiful child's legacy."

There is truly love in the stitches for this handsome kid and his family.

Quilt #59 Tre Quenneville donated by Barbara Holt

Quilt #59 was given to an adorable little guy named Tre Quenneville by my dear friend Barbara Holt.

At the end of November 2017, just a few weeks after his 2nd birthday, Tre Quenneville, the 6th child of Allison and Matt, was diagnosed with a golf ball sized tumor on the back of his brain. Allison his mom,had noticed something was not right and insisted on having an MRI done. He was rushed into emergency surgery at Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City where the lump was removed. The next day a second MRI showed spots of the cancer down his spine. On the 7th of December the biopsy came back and little Tre was diagnosed with Stage 4 Medullablastoma.



The card Barbara made to go with the quilt

Tre has had 4 rounds of chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant over the past 5 months, spending most of the time in the hospital. He and his mom are so happy when they get to come home for a few days between treatments. He began his 5th round on April 23, 2018. He will have 2 more stem cell transplants and one more round of chemo after this.

Through all of this, Tre has had a big smile on his face and has faced this with courage and resilience. We are all amazed at this little lighter. I wanted to make Tre a quilt that fit his journey. I loved this pattern with arrows. This quote summed it up beautifully.

Tre's family has created a blog to chronicle his journey: https://www.facebook.com/TheTrestrong/

She added:
Did you know that 43 kids are diagnosed with cancer in the USA every single day? It is not rare. Tre is one of those kids. Adults get over 96% of government allotted cancer research funding while pediatric funding is less than 4%. This is a good link if you would like to learn more and  see how you can help these sweet babies like Tre Quenneville. More needs to be done to address childhood cancer.

https://nationalpcf.org/facts-about-childhood-cancer/

There is love in the stitches for this little warrior...

Quilt #58 Cory and Kirsten Nilsson

Quilt #58 was presented to Cory and Kirsten Nilsson. They were recommended by my dear friend, Cherie Johnson.

On August 30, Cory was biking down Hobble Creek Canyon when a rapidly moving storm hit and a large tree fell from the mountain, striking him. He was critically injured, and was left paralyzed with multiple injuries.

Cory and Kirsten

The lives of the Nilsson family have been turned upside down and forever changed. However, their faith, courage and the love and support from family and friends has sustained them. They continue to inspire others as they endure this trial with gratitude for victories, great and small.

There is a FaceBook page which chronicles their journey through the many surgeries and procedures. They have a quote posted by Brene Brown that reads, "Courage is a heart word. Be brave. Love Hard."

Nilsson Family

It is clear that this is exactly the way they are facing this challenging journey.

In Kirsten's text to me she noted that Cory was cold tonight when she got to his hospital room and the Duncan quilt helped warm him up quickly. There is "love in the stitches" and the hope is that when they see this quilt they will again be reminded of the love and support that surrounds them from near and far.

Quilt #57 Pamela Evans donated by Toni Martin

This quilt touched a few hands on it's way to Pamela. The fabric and pattern were a Christmas gift to me from my daughter Michaela. Then while it was being cut out, my dear friend Toni Martin offtered to finish it. I wan't sure where it was supposed to go until I was talking to my Sister in Law, Eileen Tate. She told me about her dear friend Pam who was battling cancer. The beauty of this project for me is the clarity of thought when the recipients are selected. Sometimes the quilt recipient is known in advance and sometimes, the quilt is finished and we wait for inspiration to see who it belongs to.

Here is Pamela's story written in her words:

Last Friday I was on my way to my second chemo treatment feeling pretty down and anxious about it. My first round of chemo was pretty rough on me so I was not looking forward to the second. As we were leaving my dear friend Eileen Tate told me to expect a package. We stopped at the mailbox on our way and the package was there so I decided to open it before my treatment. Inside was my beautiful quilt and the letter about The Duncan Project! I was in tears as I went into my appointment with renewed spirit and strength.

My story started in November 2017. I had been noticing for a while I wasn't feeling very well. At Thanksgiving I wasn't up to making dinner so we decided as a family to go to a restarant instead of making a big meal at home. My energy was fading quickly and I just wasn't feeling right. I had extreme pain in my upper abdomen and it was making it hard for me to sleep. I finally went to the doctor, and after spending the majority of the first part of December in every  kind of scanning machine they had, it was discovered that I had a very large tumor in my upper abdoment. I was lead through many special hands especially I believe my Heavenly Father's hand to an amazing group of very specialized surgeons. 

My surgery ultimately took place on December 29th. After 7 hours, 3 surgeons together ended up removing the 11 centimeter tumor, my right kidney, adrenal gland, gallbladder, part of my liver, repair work to my diaphragm and grafting my Vena Cava artery with a stint. The vein was so damaged by the tumor that it wasn't getting blood flow to my legs and was the reason I had been so dizzy and walking so poorly. Dispite the extensive surgery, finally after 11 days in the hospital I wa able to come home with the diagnosis that my tumor was in fact Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

It has been a rough road but the love and unbelievable kindness that has been shown to me by so many takes my breath away. I am so, so blessed. The doctors have given me a hopeful prognoses and I can't wait for the end of my treatments in July.

The Duncan Project Quilt is just proof of my continued blessings during my difficult journey with "Love in Stitches" from those who do not even know me. Thank you dear ones. I will cherish it always.

Pam, we are so glad the quilt provided a measure of comfort. So grateful that you are a part of The Duncan Project.