Jeanne is this wonderful woman who I met at a late night sit-n-sew in Dallas. She was a bit shy at first and she had suffered some brain damage that caused her hearing to become super sensitive. Normal noises that you or I would think nothing of could put her on the floor in pain, so she had these special noise cancelling headphones that she wore at nearly all times.
Jeanne had been a stay at home mom with her two children but when her young son became chronically ill, she was so inspired by the doctors who helped her child that she decided that she wanted to do the same for other children. She went to school while her children were still young and got her M.D. specializing in critical care pediatrics. She worked as a doctor until her accident and the resulting brain damage.
Did that slow her down? Of Course Not!
She learned to sew and began making quilts for women's shelters and children's hospitals. She made special colorful pillows for the children in foster care so that they would have something that they could call their own. She dedicated her life to helping people in any way she could. Since she could no longer be a doctor, she made quilts, pillows and other things to give away to hospitals and charities.
The second time I met Jeanne, we were at a quilting retreat together and she was working on a beautiful quilt top that her grandmother had drawn up many years before. All Jeanne had was a drawing. That's it.
Now for people who do not sew and don't understand why that would be so interesting, let me explain.
Depending on the pattern, your quilt could be very simple or it could be very challenging. Luckily for you, you have a pattern that should tell you exactly what size to cut your fabric and how to sew it together.
Well Jeanne was making a quilt from a drawing. No hints, no clues, no instructions. She had to figure out the exact measurements of pieces of fabric that she was going to cut. Then she had to figure out how to sew them together so that all the sides and points met in the appropriate places and that there were no lumps or puffy seams.
You may not understand, but just believe me when I say that it is harder than it may sound.
Here is Jeanne Takano's Quilt top while she was working on it at that quilt retreat.
I miss you Jeanne and I will always remember you.
Jeanne Takano, MD 1956 - 2012
She is my inspiration to never give up and always pursue your dreams.
This is a complicated pattern...the diamonds create y-seams which are tricky. She appears to have met that challenge head on. As a quilter myself, I applaud her efforts to take this pattern on without any guidelines. Nicely done and love how the illusion of curves anchors her 4-point stars creating a secondary 6-point star. I am sorry for the loss of your friend. I know you will miss her and the things she might have created.
ReplyDeleteThe more we are around people, the more we realize we are on the same path of life together. It takes someone like Jeanne to point out the precious and fleeting nature of time and that nothing is impossible if you find the will and the inspiration to accomplish it.
ReplyDelete