World Wide Quilting Page
Question of the Week
Question for the week of June 8, 1998:
Our question this week comes from JB
Does anyone have experience with a disabled person quilting?
I have a friend who suffered a stroke with right side paralysis. Before the stroke her work was beautiful; she machined pieced and hand quilted.
Cheryl Simmons :
My mother had a stroke over a year ago and her right arm is very weak. She cannot use it at all. She has felt totally useless since the stroke. She cannot do the counted cross stitch she used to be able to do.
Anyway, she has been staying with me for 2 weeks and during that time she made a baby quilt top. I used triangles on a roll and set them up for her to sew. Then I pinned the blocks together to for her and she sewed them. The quilt turned out beautiful. She is moving to Nevada and we are talking about me sending her ready pinned pieces and her sewing them and sending them back.
I would like to hear how others have overcome some of the problems with the sewing machine. She is not sure she can change a bobbin on her machine by herself.
But it is so exciting to see her feel useful and alive again. We are planning to do charity quilts together.
Anita Griffin :
My youngest daughter is handicapped and I found that the best way for her to sew and quilt is with a sewing machine that can be adjusted to sew slowly. Your friend, if she was right handed, will have to relearn to use her left side - that is daunting enough, but she will also have to learn to use a foot pedal with the left foot. She can use doublesided tape on her sewing table to hold quilt pieces while she matches and aligns them. Just tell her to take it easy. When you have a handicap you use a lot more energy! Good luck to you both! She's got a good friend!
Renee Casady :
As a quilter with some background helping persons who have weakness remaining from a stroke, I would be happy to give some suggestions if you email me at casady@logan.net.
I am a physical therapist.
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