Quilt #88 Ashlee Lloyd

Jeannie Thomas, Jan Myrberg, Joan Schneiter, Ashlee Lloyd, Debbie Stringfellow and littles

Quilt #88 was presented to Ashlee Lloyd, our dear Toni Martin's daughter by Joan Schneiter. Toni passed away from cancer in December. She had always planned to be part of this quilt presentation and many of us are sure, she was in attendance.

Joan Schneiter writes:

Ashley and  her mother Toni 

This quilt is a mother/daughter thank you quilt to Ashlee Martin Lloyd. On June 18th, 2019, Toni Martin received a quilt from our book club on her 60 birthday as she was battling stage four melanoma cancer. Ashlee’s quilt is from the scraps of Toni’s quilt. During Toni’s valiant, grace- filled-battle, Ashlee was particularly attentive to her mom, affectionately known to the family as Tonz. Ashlee cleaned, cooked, finished her mom’s projects, and continued to be her mom’s confidant and friend. She said on many occasions, “I do this selfishly because I just want to be with my mom!” Toni and Ashlee had a beautiful mother/daughter relationship. Toni had several difficult hospitalizations during her battle and Ashlee held her mom’s hand through every trial.  She and her mom exchanged three hand squeezes to say, “I love you!” Ashlee, her dad, and brothers were with Tonz until the end of her earthly journey on the morning of December 18th, 2019.

Ashlee is very much like her beloved Tonz: she is funny, loving, kind, a great cook, gracious, creative, and a fabulous mother. Ashlee is part of her momma, and Toni lives on through her children and grandchildren. Toni taught her children to love with fierceness and loyalty. One of Toni’s gifts that she passed on to Ashlee is the ability to humbly listen with intensity. Ashlee is part of her momma just like her quilt is part of her momma’s quilt. 

Karen (Joan's daughter), Jane, Joan, Ashlee and Debbie and littles

My mom, Jane Myrberg, helped me put this quilt together.  Toni saw the finished quilt top in November. I used Toni’s favorite quilter to quilt it, Donna Signs. I think this quilt is also from Toni! My mom finished all but two sides of the binding and on one of our quilt days, Toni’s sisters Debbie and Christy came to help finish it up. Barbara Holt and Christy finished the binding--it was a sweet day. As I watched Toni’s sisters interacting with our quilt group, I thought Toni would be smiling and laughing watching all of us together.  Love is in the stitches that bind us together.

I talked to Ashlee the other day and indicated that she is now an honorary Book Club member. We all feel a sisterhood with these talented, compassionate and lovely women. Love in the stitches.....

Quilt #87 DeAnn Magee donated by Mary Duke

Quilt #87 was donated to DeAnn Magee by her friend Mary Duke.  More and more this project uncovers how we are connected. This is another quilt started by one person and finished by another then given in love to a third person.

The blocks on this quilt were sewn by Marilyn Mott, another Duncan quilt recipient who has since passed.

This is some of the note Mary enclosed with the quilt gifted for DeAnn's birthday:

Happy Birthday to you my kind, fun, sweet, dear friend. DeAnn, when our sweet Marilyn Mott passed away and you didn't end up with the quilt (Marilyn's Duncan Quilt) that you wanted, I was sad. You were such dear friends and she would have wanted you to have it. You and Marilyn were always there for each other. So, I thought maybe I would make you another quilt. So, when I went to look at fabrics that day at Marilyn's house after you left, I found some quilt blocks that she had made but never finished and turned them into a quilt...So Happy Birthday from Marilyn and I.

Marilyn and DeAnn had only been friends for 4 or 5 years but watching them together it seemed like so much longer. They met as Visiting Teaching companions and hit it off so well they became very close and did everything together. As we all know, sometimes friends are family that we choose for ourselves. DeAnn very much misses her dearest friend.

I am touched that love stays in the stitches as DeAnn has something from Marilyn's hand and that Mary's loving acknowledgement and effort gave this invaluable gift.

Love in the stitches...

Quilt #85 Easton Martin donated by Toni's Tribe

Quilt #85 was given to celebrate the birth of Easton Martin. It has a story that reaches back more than a year and underscores the richness of sisterhood.

Last year I was working on this quilt for the Hess family, another Duncan Project recipient. I had sewn the individual half-square triangles and went to my dear friend Toni Martin's to spend the day sewing the blocks together to finish the quilt top. We sewed all day and were just getting ready to put the large sections together when it became apparent that I had made a few mistakes that left a gaping section in the quilt right in the center.

We tried re configuring the sections to see if there was a way to "make it work." We puzzled for almost half hour when Toni's son stopped by with her darling, then 4 years old, granddaughter Kennadee. We all smiled as Kennadee fearlessly jumped right in finding a way to solve this quilt puzzle. Surprisingly she came up with a perfect solution. Only issue is the quilt would have been about half the intended size (when I returned home I found a sad singular square had been left on my sewing table causing the whole fiasco).

Quilt #67 sewn with Toni

I left Toni's house in frustration, knowing I had exacerbated the problem by impetuously re-cutting some of the squares only making the problem worse. Quilts do not always come together easily. Toni vowed to keep working on the quilt if I could get my hands on more fabric. I felt a certain urgency to get a quilt finished for the Hess family. A couple of days later I found another quilt kit  and Toni and I spent a whole day finishing this quilt top.

I ordered more fabric for Quilt #85 and when it arrived, I packed it away with the unfinished quilt to be completed sometime in the future.

Fast forward 9 months later and our dear Toni shares with us that she has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Melanoma. Lots of ups and downs as Toni battles this awful disease.

Toni is an amazing quilter and has sewn beautiful quilts for each of her grandchildren as they were born. As life would have it, Toni had two new grandchildren due at the time of her diagnosis. As her treatment progressed, it became apparent that Toni would need all of her energy for her cancer treatment. Toni would sew again but in this season, it was nearly impossible.

A sweet sister friend and daughter-in-law took over the completion of a quilt for the first of the two grandchildren born, a sweet baby girl named Wrigley.

One day it came to my mind, that we had a quilt with Toni's love already in the stitches. It just  needed a little creative re-working. I felt inspired that we should wanted to find a way to finish this one for Toni's new grandson Easton.

I pulled out the quilt and tried numerous times to determine how to make it whole. The more I looked at the pattern, the more frustrated I became. I really wanted to do this but my limited skill was holding me back.

Enter two more members of Toni's tribe, seasoned quilters, Mary Duke and Terry Powell. They looked at the quilt top with fresh eyes. They threw away the pattern and used their own skill to finish the quilt top. They had it finished in a matter of a couple hours. There is a huge life lesson here.

Many other quilting sisters added their stitches to the binding and it was completed and given to baby Easton. Toni's family and friends are working on another darling quilt for Easton that Toni had originally envisioned.  Meanwhile, this quilt is a testament to the depth, beauty and strength of Toni's sister tribe.

There is Toni's love and that of so many who love her and her entire family in these stitches.

Quilt #86 Ben Kalish

Ben received treatment at UCLA

Early this summer I received a text from our good friend Colleen Low. Her son Carter had received a  Duncan Quilt as he battled cancer a couple of years ago (thankfully he is now in remission). She wondered if a quilt could be created for Carter's boyhood friend, Ben Kalish.

Ben was a 21 year old college student due to graduate next year, when he was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. This type of cancer is rare and aggressive. He soon learned that his course of treatment would last a year consisting of 16 rounds of chemo.

Reading a little about Ben, I learned of his love for hiking and the outdoors. His quilt has map fabric incorporated into the design.

The last update showed that his numerous tumors are shrinking. Ben has wonderful family and friends supporting his on this difficult journey.

We hope this quilt is a reminder to Ben of the many people who love him and are praying for strength and comfort for him and his family.

Love in the stitches....

Quilt #84 Mary Ann Liefting donated by Book Club

Quilt #84 was given to Mary Ann Liefting by our Book Club.  This spring, Mary Ann lost her beautiful son Josh

I asked Mary Ann if I could share her post on Facebook when Josh passed:

I can't believe I have to post this. The world lost a kind, beautiful soul yesterday. We lost our sweet son, Josh Burdette. He was one of the kindest and funniest people I knew, if you were lucky enough to know him well, you know these things to be true. The world will be a sadder place without him in it.

Josh and his loving sister Mikel

Please say hello to your dad and mine. Love you pooch/posh. Until we meet again. Mom

It is so clear from her words how much she adored this sweet son. We attended the funeral and many family members spoke to honor Josh.  The stories of this clever young man made many laugh through the tears. He was truly one of a kind.

Through her loss, Mary Ann, shows extraordinary grace and strength. She knows that Josh is loved by our Heavenly Father and is now with loved ones on the other side.

Members of Book Club decided at lunch after the funeral that we wanted to make a quilt to honor Josh and to express our love and support for our dear Mary Ann. There is so much love in the stitches....

Quilt #83 Kiley and Chandlor Issacs-Inn

Spoiler Alert: This one is a story with a very happy ending.

Most of the recipients of the Duncan Project quilts are navigating through difficult trials. I wanted to make a quilt for these beautiful newlyweds to honor the hope and joy we all feel when two beautiful friends marry.

I remember Kiley showing me a picture of this very handsome missionary that she hoped to date one day (her best friend Savannah was serving in New Zealand with Chandlor and hoped to line them up when he finished his mission).

I recall her optimism and thinking that the odds of it happening were pretty slim. i guess age has made me jaded. Boy, was I wrong. They did end up dating and they married this August.

If you met this couple you might notice that they both radiate goodness in the same way. They both have bright smiles and gentle, loving hearts.

In a world with so many hard things, theirs is a hopeful fairy tale. So happy to witness their
beautiful sealing and hope they feel the love in these stitches.

Quilt #82 Josiah Beach donated by Terry Powell and Stacey Tate

Josiah with his quilt at the bowling alley

Quilt #82 was given to Josiah Beach to celebrate his baptism. Josiah is Duncan's older brother. Over the last few years I have heard a few tender stories of how Josiah misses his younger brother Duncan and a sweet testimony that he is looking forward to reuniting with his younger brother. Josiah has a sure and tender faith that confirms his understanding of where Duncan is now and often talks of being with him again.

Josiah received this quilt quite by coincidence on Duncan's birthday. His mother Alisa shared with me that on the morning of Duncan's birthday, Josiah told her that he had had a dream about Duncan. He couldn't remember what happened but he told her "Mom, this is my lucky day! I got to dream about Duncan last night."

Terry Powell donated this quilt top to The Duncan Project a few months ago.  When I saw it, I immediately noted the airplane fabric. I remember seeing videos of Duncan and Josiah watching videos of airshows with their Grandpa Duncan and I thought it would be a perfect for Josiah to remind him of his brother in heaven and celebrate his baptism. It also had a large orange sections of fabric which was Duncan's favorite color.

 I decided to machine quilt this quilt with a star pattern only to be reminded by Josiah's mother that each member of this family has a symbol (Duncan's was a palm tree). What I didn't know was that Josiah's is a star in the middle of a firework. Another sweet coincidence.

The Jensens, Beaches and Duncans at the bowling alley celebrating Duncan's birthday

Duncan loved to bowl and their family continues to celebrate his birthday at the bowling alley each year. Such a beautiful way to remember him and his loving influence during his short time on each.

I hope Josiah will enjoy this quilt and that it will serve as a reminder of the eternal nature of families. There is a strong connection between these brothers and I hope Josiah will feel the love in these stitches...