Plan B

Most of Kayla's friends are having a difficult time dealing with her death. Three of them are new friends she met when school started in September. They have made a memorial page for her on Facebook but I'm not on Facebook so have not seen it. I just saw their grief at the visitation and Celebration of Life service.  Another girl who could not stop sobbing at both the visitation and service  has been her friend since Junior High. She goes to a different alternative high school but they have never lost touch. I saw a boy walk into the visitation with crutches. He must either have cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy. He stood by himself at the coffin and talked to Kayla for the longest time. I couldn't hear what he said but I saw his lips moving. My husband asked him his name and we found it in the guest book. He said he had been friends with Kayla since Junior High and the first year of high school but parted ways when she went to a different school. He was alone again at the Celebration of Life service. He had no coat or hat and it was a very cold day.   All of these kids told us that Kayla had helped them through some troubles.  My other granddaughter is only five weeks older than Kayla.  They have been best friends since birth. 

I decided I wanted to make a quilt for these six kids. Maybe they could wrap up and think of Kayla when troubled and possibly find a little comfort. I am also going to make some little stuffed hearts they can carry in their pockets if they so choose - kind of like a worry stone, prayer stone, memorial stone. 

Except for a few collections of fabric most of my stash is in chunks or smaller scraps. I did not feel like thinking much about what fabric to use to make the quilts so for the first time in my life on January 29th I ordered a couple of bolts of fabric thinking I would make six Friendship Star quilts all the same with one fabric for the background and one for the Stars.   Well, then yesterday I felt like doing some sewing; however, I only felt like making the Friendship Star quilts. Yesterday I still had not even received notification that my fabric had been shipped.  What to do?? What to do??

I dug around in my pile of solids I use for backgrounds and found a big piece of black solid I didn't even know I had. Kayla was usually dressed in black- the goth look. Ok. Maybe I'll use that.  As I mentioned previously Kayla spread sunshine all over the place so I picked up some yellow chunks of fabric thinking I would make yellow stars on a black background. But I was not sure I had enough black or yellow for six quilts so I decided to start by making three quilts the same for her latest group of friends with the memorial page.  Then I was not sure I had enough black for three quilts so decided to stretch it a little with a third fabric and a Friendship Star variation. What to use for a third fabric?? I had a few rainbow-ish fabrics sitting around in a little pile that I have been collecting for a donation quilt. Who doesn't love a rainbow? I searched around and found quite a few multicolored rainbow-ish fabrics to add to that little pile. And Kayla is somewhere over the rainbow so...I sewed.  I'm making 12 inch (finished) blocks and will use 30 blocks in each quilt. 

I'm not sure I have enough solid black for three quilts but that is easy enough to come by. Not sure I have enough rainbows but I've made a lot of blocks and I still have a little pile of rainbows.  This will keep me busy until my fabric order ships. Then I will make the other three quilts as I originally intended. Or maybe I'll change my mind and use the bolts of fabric for backings. 

I am just thankful my grandmother taught me to sew at an early age. It is one way I have found to deal with worry, troubles and grief over the years. Reading and gardening work pretty well too. 

Granddaughters Kayla and Isabelle learning to sew seams on their little Janomes in 2014 at age 10.  Grandma spent most of her time threading the sewing machine needles.