Carole Lake's Quilt

On June 18, 1999, Carole Lake was struck by a car (crossing the street to go to lunch, what else?) while in Columbus, Ohio, attending the TNNA needlework market. Because she was at a major needlework gathering when the accident occurred, word spread like wildfire about her serious injuries. The Internet, and particularly the ANG-List, were humming with updates on her condition, both mental and physical. Friends, acquaintances, colleagues and total strangers joined together in sharing a terrible feeling of helplessness and hopefulness as updates arrived via email. Carole spent six weeks in three hospitals, endured multiple surgeries, and says now that she could not have faced rehab and learning to walk again without the steadfast support of her friends, many of whom kept in contact with her via her laptop computer,which she had with her on the trip, and therefore still had with her in the hospital.

As a result, many of Carole's friends expressed an interest in doing something for her. Kathy Holman and Pat Timpanaro came up with the idea of making her a stitched quilt. We contacted as many of Carole's friends as we could, primarily via email, and asked those who could to stitch a square. We had a very tight deadline, but still thirty-six squares were turned in just two months after the accident. This was all kept a secret from Carole, which was very hard to do! But finally the quilt was assembled and presented to Carole at the ANG National Seminar in Atlanta. She says, "I was never so totally dumfounded in my entire life. As wordy as I usually am, I was left totally speechless. I simply could not believe that so many people had worked so hard, kept secrets, talked about me behind my back!, and gotten such a wonderful quilt together in such a short time."

The quilt, the whole quilt, and a bit more than just the quilt

In addition to the 36 stitched squares, Carole's friends made generous donations that allowed us to purchase the fabric used for the quilt backing and sashing; to give a gift to Judy Poole, who arranged the squares and pieced them together; and to pay for the quilting. Through Judy's good graces and relationship with the quilter, we were able to get the piece quilted in two weeks where there is usually a waiting period of a year. The remainder was donated to ANG's Louise Meier Scholarship Fund in honor of Carole. Carole says, "I was absolutely astonished by the number of people who participated in this project -- and who kept it secret. I'm not sure I wanted to know so many people were able to keep secrets so well! I was particularly glad to have this donation go to the Louise Meier Fund. Louise Meier was the first teacher I ever took a class from at a national seminar back in 1983, and she was a seminal influence on my stitching and on my desire to be a teacher of needlework."

Carole and Nancy Torti watching Kathy photograph the quilt.

Stitchers were told to use their imaginations, but common themes included teapots, cats and hearts and Carole's favorite color purple. After the squares all came together, it's amazing how well they coordinate. Whimsical touches such as the tire tracks in Nancy Cucci's square and the little broken legs in Mary Ellen Searcy and Pat Morse's square add a unique quality of humor. As Dorothy Lesher wrote in her square, "At intersections, look each way, A harp sounds nice, but is hard to play." We're just glad to have Carole still here!

Carole and her quilt

When asked for a statement about the quilt, Carole added: "I wish you could all see the wonderful detail in this quilt. Each square has special meaning, and I can sit and just oooh and aaaah over it for hours. I could tell that each of the stitchers was thinking of me as they stitched; they all have a personal touch. The quilting is fabulous and the back is as wonderful as the front. Each square has unique quilting to enhance the stitching (one of the cats says, 'Meow!'). Every time I look at it, I see something new. It brings tears to my eyes, which is a 'Good Thing'. At first, we hung the quilt in my bedroom, since I was spending so much time there. I have now, I hope, had the last of the surgeries to repair the damage from the accident, and I will be moving the quilt to a special wall in my study, where I spend lots of time at the computer and stitching and designing, things I was afraid I'd never be able to do again. Things looked really grim after the accident, but I had so many people rooting for me, that how could I help but get better? I seriously underestimated how efficacious the prayers and care and concern and kindness and thoughts and cards and flowers and Godiva and books and constant attention of my friends, both far and near, could be.

Carole admiring her quilt

Now, eight months after the accident, I'm walking without a walker or cane most of the time. My doctor here is fabulous, and I'm exercising and working to get my strength back. We've removed all the ramps and invalid equipment from the house, and I am driving and stitching and doing pretty much whatever I want. Every day I feel better, and have less pain. I had not realized how just a moment could change your life so dramatically. It's given me a new appreciation for a lot of different things, but most especially for my family and friends, who all really came through in the crunch for me."

Carole looking surprised

The pictures on these pages were taken by Kathy Holman using a digital camera at the seminar. Thanks to Chris Eisenberg for doing her magic, reducing the size of the images and brightening them up!

After the pictures of Carole below, there's an electronic "version" of the quilt --click on the small picture to see a larger image.

If you want to see the quilt in person, Carole plans to enter it into the Exhibit at the National Seminar in Kansas City, so if you missed seeing it in Atlanta, there's your chance!

Carole admiring the quilting

Stitched by Michele Roberts	Stitched by Carolyn Anderson	Stitched by Mary Lou Stransky	Stitched by Nancy Cucci	if you stitched this, let us know	if you stitched this, let us know
Stitched by Kathy Herman	Stitched by Marilyn Hail	Stitched by Cathy Felten	Stitched by Lisa Balbes	Stitched by Pam Pabst	Stitched by Susan Sturdivant
Stitched by Maryann Juergensen	Stitched by Sharon Snyder	Stitched by Mimi Kaufman	Stitched by Cindy Cloyd	Stitched by Barbara Richardson	Stitched by Diane Trobaugh
Stitched by Joan Thomasson	Stitched by Eula Malson	Stitched by Barbara Bond	Stitched by Diane Fulmer	Stitched by Jane Simchuk	Stitched by Pat Morse & Mary Ellen Searcy
Stitched by Kathy Holman	Stitched by Barbara Jackson	Stitched by Dorothy Lesher	Stitched by Frankie Seidel	Stitched by Zeena MacLean	Stitched by Carlene Harwick
Stitched by Jacqui and Keith Clarkson	Stitched by Genny Morrow	Stitched by Pat Timpanaro	Stitched by Dallas TARTS (Jo Hopper, Kathy Holman, Susan Sturdivant, Judy Poole)	Stitched by Pat Grappe	Stitched by Members of the Tulsa Embroiderers' Guild of Oklahoma (Julie Galvez, Sis Hummel, Karin Love, Andrea Myers, Barbara Rasmussen, Doreen Williams)

Susan Cluck stitched a square, but it was received too late to be part of the quilt. It has been made into a wall hanging and has a place of honor in Carole's house.

Financial donations were received from the following people who were unable to contribute stitching: Gail Bloom, Elizabeth Brown, Sue Dulle, Peg Dunayer, Inez Eppright, Deanna Funk, Kate Gaunt, Estelle Kelley, Barbara Lewis, Shay Pendray, Judy Souliotis, Dixie Smart, Debbie Stiehler, Jennifer Taylor, Nancy Torti and Sally Williams.  In addition, many of the stitchers also made a financial contribution.

Some donors were not properly identified -- if your name isn't here, let us know, because if it isn't here, Carole doesn't know about it, and she wants to know!