Today we are remembering those lost, and the shocking events of 9-11-2001 in New York City. For those of us who lived through that day, it is one of those memories that is still crystal clear. We all remember where we were, what we were doing, when we heard and saw the news. There are many in our industry who were directly affected by the destruction and trauma of that day. Having previously lived in lower Manhattan when I worked in the garment industry, I had many friends affected. But because of old and new contacts, we were able to collect 3500 donated comfort quilts that were personally distributed to those who suffered a loss that day. For many of you, it was the first time you had donated a quilt to a stranger. I drew comfort from the fact that I had trusted partners on the ground there, who would make sure those precious quilts were personally placed in the hands of someone who needed comfort.
I remember the day that JFK was shot also. I was 5 years old. My mother came into the hallway weeping. I asked her what had happened and she said ‘they shot the president’. I didn’t see the news that day. My whole memory was around witnessing her grief. It was the same way for those who experienced the attack on Pearl Harbor. These generational traumas and memories end up being woven into the fabric of our collective lifetimes, and we can only wonder what our country, our lives, our history would be like if these things had not happened. But they did happen. And we will never forget.
My 32 yr old son remembers that day. My 24 yr old son does not, despite the fact that he sat on my lap all day while I watched the news. I hugged him so tight as I watched the day’s events unfold on TV. Then I went into our warehouse (our smaller first warehouse) and we stood in a circle with our employees, holding hands and weeping, and praying.
Then we got on the phone and called all of our suppliers, to order any patriotic fabrics in stock, because I knew our customers were going to be looking for these fabrics after this event. In the months following there was such a feeling of unity and solidarity among all of us in the US, as we all grieved the loss.
We made patriotic quilts, comfort quilts, memorial quilts, and story quilts so we would never forget.
We all stood together.
…sharing your love of fabric,
Luana and Paul
Quilt/Travel Calendar:
Sept 21-29 – Alaska
Oct 23-30 – Houston Quilt Market & Festival
Nov 13 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Visions Art Museum
Dec 4 – Zoom lecture “Intl Quilt Trends” – Quilt Canada
Jan 12 – Apr 9, 2022 – New England Quilt Museum (NEQM) “For the Love of Gaia” exhibit
Sat, April 9 – “International Quilt Trends” lecture – NEQM
