Siblings Together

I have been following Lynne at Lily's Quilts for a few months now.  She has a great blog and I have made lots of new friends through her 'small blog meet.'  But there is something else that she is doing that is really rather special.

Lynne is supporting the charity Siblings Together, a project that, in a nutshell, reunites siblings at a summer camp, who are otherwise separated by the care system. 

Lynne has come up with the wonderful idea of giving a quilt to each of these children, to take home with them, as a reminder of their stay and the special time they had with their sibling.  The response has been overwhelming, and quilts have been provided from all over the world.  And not just any old quilts; quilts that have been years in the making, quilts with beautiful fabrics, quilts with children and teenagers in mind.  And others have donated blocks, offered their services to quilt quilt tops, and some have provided fabrics for others who have more time to make a quilt - you can see them all on the dedicated flickr group.

Every time Lynne posted about progress and the marvellous momentum that her appeal has gathered, I kept feeling that I wanted to contribute, but the reality is my time is stretched to the max with looking after Freya and baby William (not to mention squeezing in some coursework at every spare opportunity) so making a whole quilt in a timely fashion is just realistically not going to happen.  :-(  So I came up with an idea to write a poem, which could be given to the children, or, as Lynne has suggested, somehow incorporated into the quilts.  Here it is:

If you’re feeling lonely

And you don’t know what to do,

Wrap this quilt around you,

And love will come shining through.

You may not always be together,

But forever in your hearts

Is a love so strong, unbreakable,

It cannot come apart.

And every stitch is sewn with love,

With colours to brighten your day,

The pattern chosen carefully,

To remind you of your stay.

 

 

So take your quilt and treasure it,

Let it be your joy and pride,

Remember all the special times

With your sibling by your side.

 

 

It's just a small contribution to this wonderful project, but I hope the children can read it as they look at their quilts and take that little bit of comfort.