One More Quilt: A Story of Life
Chapter Four: The 1980s

Bill and I bought a yellow ranch-style home in Guilford, Connecticut and moved in October 12, 1980. I sewed curtains for every room, continued crocheting, and made quite a few crib quilts for family and friends who were having their first babies.

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Bill and I started going to the First Congregational Church in Guilford, Connecticut in 1981. I read in the church bulletin where it said on Tuesday nights and Wednesday mornings were workshops for the Harvest Fair held annually in the fall. It also said that if anyone liked to sew, this was the place. I went to one of the Tuesday nights because I worked at Picker International during the day and I met this wonderful group of ladies and felt right at home with them. I loved to listen to all of them tell their stories about their children and grandchildren.

Two ladies in particular were there, Cynthia Magee and Betty Allen. They both asked me if I wanted to join The Alpha Club. They told me all about it and I said I would be able to go to the next meeting. I have been a member of The Alpha Club since then and have loved it.

The picture here shows some of the pillow kitties that I made for the Harvest Fair that fall and I have continued to make pillow kitties ever since - but that is another story!

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My first nephew Tom was born on January 18, 1981 and I made him a crib quilt. When I asked his mother, Sandy, who is Bill's older sister, about Tom's quilt recently, she told me that Tom always had the quilt with him. And still does, to this day. Tom had found a particular soft spot in the corner of the quilt that was his favorite. Sandy said that Tom has always said to her, "Mom, feel this soft spot, isn't it great!"

Our son, Jeffrey William, was born on July 8, 1982. Jeff named this quilt "Special Blanket" and great-aunt Bobby gave it to him. Jeff named this crocheted blanket "Rainbow" and I made it.

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The alphabet crib quilt was made for Tom Carroll, son of Nancy and Bill Carroll, in 1983. When I asked Nancy recently about Tom's quilt, she told me that not only did Tom love this quilt, it was passed down to Paul, and then to James who is still using the quilt. I asked Nancy to take a picture of it for me and she did. I am stunned that it held up so well. What fun for me to know about this quilt 16 years later.

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With the collected Strawberry quilt blocks, I made this quilt specifically for my first niece Jessica. I had learned that no quilt is perfect and I intentionally placed one Strawberry upside-down for this reason. I believe it brings good luck to a quilt. I feel that this quilt is the most special one with the most special story of love.

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There is no question in my mind that Jessica has loved this quilt. I gave it to Jessica when she moved to Cheshire, Connecticut from San Francisco, California in the summer of 1984. Jessica was born on February 11, 1981 in San Francisco

This quilt has always been a part of Jessica's life. It gave her comfort many, many nights when she, as the oldest child, had to cope with an alcoholic mother and a father that decided not to marry her mother. There has been a lot of pain and suffering caused by the disease of alcoholism. Somehow, through all the many apartments that Jessica has been in - Cheshire, Southington, Meriden, and Hartford - this quilt has followed Jessica.

In September 1993, Heidi had hit rock bottom with alcoholism and could no longer support her drinking habit and could no longer support her four children, Jessica, Andrea, Ian and Valerie. The Board of Health had closed the apartment in Meriden and she met a man named Ed in a bar and decided to move in with him. His house was in Hartford, so Heidi and her children moved in. This was a very bad situation Heidi soon realized and had to get out quickly. She left all of their belongings behind.

Heidi called our mother and she refused to take Heidi in this time. At this point in time, the alcoholism had taken a bigger hold on our mother, too. Heidi had used up her welcome because she had already lived at my mother's co-op apartment before. Heidi phoned Shane and he went and got Heidi and Valerie and then went to the school to get Jessica, Andrea, and Ian.

Shane and Heidi went to Aunt Bobby's house in Northford, Connecticut and that is when Shane phoned me. Aunt Bobby was in Cambridge, Massachusetts, visiting with her son, Charles. Aunt Bobby also had been dealing with a drinking problem and demanded that Heidi leave her house immediately.

Shane and I went to Aunt Bobby's house the next day. After a very long morning and after a very long phone call to the Department of Children and Families, they told me that their caseload was too high and was glad to hear that we would take responsibility for caring for these children while their mother goes into detoxification. I phoned Jeff Archibald at his place of work, asked him if he wanted his children, Ian and Valerie, and to meet us at my mother's apartment in Cheshire in one hour.

We packed Heidi and her kids up and trekked over to Cheshire. My mother had come home from work and stated very clearly that she was glad that Shane and I were dealing with it because she couldn't anymore. Heidi gave out birth certificates, social security numbers and immunization records to Jeff Archibald and to me. I made arrangements for Heidi to go to Middletown Detoxification Facility at Dutcher Hall and Shane and I dropped her off while my mother stayed with Jessica and Andrea. I went home with Jessica. Andrea stayed at Shane's house. The next day, Shane called to tell me that Andrea wants to be with her sister. I said no problem and went over to get Andrea on Sunday. I will never forget the sight of Andrea sitting on the hill with her school backpack waiting for us. How much more confused and full of pain could a child of ten be in?

Jeffrey and Katie welcomed Jessica and Andrea with much relief. They had been going with me week after week to bring groceries and clothes and were glad to have them with us. Our house was under construction at the time, building a master bedroom for Bill and I, so Katie, Jessica and Andrea had a short stay in the basement. Then, all three girls moved into Katie's room. It was tight quarters, but it worked out pretty well. I am proud of how they accomplished the arrangement of the girls' room.

In the meantime, Shane and I kept trying to make arrangements to get the children's belongings back. After two months, we finally met Ed in Hartford and filled both cars up with as much as they could hold and left. In one of the plastic trash bags was Jessica's precious Strawberry quilt, quite soggy because the bag was left out in the rain. I carefully washed it as best as I could.

I asked Jessica if she wanted to help me re-do the quilt squares and resurrect her quilt. I watched as Jessica painstakingly cut around each Strawberry and both of us were very careful to keep the Strawberries in the same order. She and I pinned it back together and I had to machine stitch it to keep it reinforced. With a few more patches here and there, the Strawberry quilt is back where it belongs, with Jessica.

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I made the Victorian Crazy Crib Quilt for Andrea and gave it to her in 1984 at the same time I gave Jessica her Strawberry quilt. Andrea's birth date is January 30, 1983. Andrea's quilt was also retrieved from the rescue in Hartford. Interestingly enough, Andrea chose to give her little quilt to her little sister, Valerie, who was one year old. What a generous spirit of Andrea to give a most loved possession and for a very sweet reason. When Andrea was at Shane and Karen's, Karen gave Andrea her own childhood blanket. It's red and black velour and Andrea still has it on her bed.

During the past six years, Jessica and Andrea have seen their younger siblings, Ian and Valerie, and stepbrother Jason. From time to time, Andrea would see the little quilt on Valerie's bed. I phoned Grandma Jenny one day and asked her about the quilt. She said that Valerie was through with it and wanted Andrea to have it back. Grandma Jenny had made Valerie a new quilt for her new bed.

Tears came to my eyes when I saw Valerie, now seven years old, carrying the quilt, folded over her arm, and hand it to Andrea. This was the night, June 1999, we gathered for Jessica's high school graduation dinner at The Olive Garden. Talk about sentimental value for Andrea as well as me. I got to touch the pieces of fabric again. The dark orange fabric is from Nana's Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy collection of fabrics. The soft green is from a wrap skirt I made for myself. Andrea now has her little quilt.

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Our daughter, Katherine Frances, whom we call Katie, was born on September 25, 1984. The pink knitted blanket was made by Gladys Parmalee, a member of The Alpha Club at First Congregational Church in Guilford, Connecticut. The pastel crocheted blanket was made by me. The soft velour blanket was given to Katie by great-aunt Bobby

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Michael Nachin, Shane and Karen's son, was born December 24, 1984. I made the shades of blue crocheted blanket for him.

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Stephanie Nachin, Shane and Karen's daughter, was born March 15, 1986. I went in another creative direction and made her a flannel board with The Three Little Kittens book to go with it.

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My friend Jan Sachs and I made a Spiritual Renewal Banner so Jan could bring it to the 16th General Synod held in Cleveland, Ohio and Connecticut Conference Annual Meeting for October 1987. We worked on this banner together at my house. Jeff was five years old at the time and was very intrigued by the shape of the three-dimensional figure on the banner. One time, when we had the quilt on the floor, Jeff came over to it and shaped his body over the figure and announced to both of us that he was going to Cleveland, too. Out of the mouths of babes, he did just that.

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Jeff's Crossroads Quilt was made in 1988. Jeff doesn't have this quilt anymore. He absolutely used it up. He would run and slide onto his bed at night, so the quilt ended up in shreds.

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Katie's Applique Tulip Quilt was made in 1988. Katie doesn't have this quilt anymore. A friend of hers was playing in her room and found a little hole in part of the quilt and loaded it with crayons. Unknowingly, I washed and dried the quilt and couldn't get the crayon out.

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I went to the Guilford Free Library and found the pattern for the Pieced Tulip quilt to make a new quilt for Katie in 1988. I liked this pattern because of the way the blocks are placed. The flowers face each other in the middle and it looks great draped over the edges of Katie's Victorian pink and white bed. Along with the quilt, I made a matching little quilt for her Kirsten doll.

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Heidi Nachin and Jeff Archibald were married in our yard in 1988. I made her wedding dress in soft Laura Ashley colors and made the rainbow pastel quilt for them. Jessica, Andrea, Jeff and Katie were flower children and I made their outfits. If pictures are worth a thousand words, this picture is definitely pre-destiny.

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