Kathryn and her passion for quilting.

Kathryn in her quilting room.

I don't have a date on this image, as it was shot using slide film, which was probably some 20 years ago.  This is Kathryn in her heyday, when she was a quilting dynamo.  She finally had her craft room in our old house set up and had mastered her craft to the point that she was teaching classes on how to quilt.  The matching desk and overhead cupboards were an anniversary gift for her from me.  Her sewing machine was busily unwinding spools of thread when time was available.  Of all the crafts she has done (and there are a lot), quilting is the one she is most fond of.

As many of you know, Kathryn has been suffering with intractable migraine headaches - they never end.  They range from a level five up to a level ten.  Those big ones have only happened to her a couple of times, but they are incredibly disabling.  We went to the hospital once after she suffered with one for three days.  They had her wait in a bright, loud waiting room in a chair, which she couldn't stand.  I had to get her blankets and pillows so she could lie down on the floor with something covering her eyes.  It took hours before she was seen.  When eventually examined, the attending gave her two injections which knocked the pain down a notch.  Then she went home.  She never wants to go through that again.

Six years after the onset of those horrible migraines, Kathryn is still quilting.  The machines now are quiet most of the time as she is rarely able to use them.  Still though, when she feels well enough, it is the one place she wants to be.  It is her way of doing something meaningful.  She makes quilts for others, for the ones she loves.  A legacy of warmth and colour.  Her latest creation is traveling to Alberta where our son and his wife are.  They will be embraced by her love as surely as if she were there. 

I am a firm believer in never giving up.  Do what you can, while you can still do it.  Everybody wins.  Find a passion and follow it.  Cooking, woodwork, automotive, crafts, helping others; they all help to keep you active, engaged, and involved.   Kathryn loves quilting and helping others learn it.  I expect this to continue for as long as she is able.  My part is to support her however I can.  Making her happy makes me happy.  I think that is the way it is supposed to be.