#heartsforpenny

#heartsforpenny.... a hashtag that I saw for the first time just minutes after hanging up from a phone call with the state medical examiner, the day after Don had died.  "Your husband died from a dissected aortic aneurysm" he had said, "It was his heart."  I hung up the phone and heard it ping.  I looked down and saw that I had been tagged in a post on Instagram...with the hashtag #heartsforpenny.  A closer look revealed that my quilt community...having no idea of the phone conversation I had just had with the medical examiner....were on a mission to collect heart blocks to create a quilt for me...to comfort me in my loss. My heart had just been shattered...and here they were planning to send me their own hearts of love.

Tonight I got to open two boxes....each with a quilt inside... I don't even know how to put into words how magnificent they each are.   I haven't actually counted how many blocks there are in total...I'm still searching each quilt over and over again and I feel like I see something new every time.  Each block is so unique...but each contains a heart.  My heart overflows tonight with love from my quilt friends.  My eyes overflow with tears....I am so thankful for every single one of you who made a block for me.

I'll share a few pics here of getting to see the quilts....at some point I will photograph each block....but for now...I'm going to wrap myself up in some amazing love.

The Quilts

This week will be eight months.  Sometimes I really hate that I apply a number to it...and yet I can't seem to not do that. Every day brings its challenges...but I'm doing my best to keep going. 

A special thank you to Teri Lucas, Michelle Banton, Jamie Mueller & Mandy Leins for taking time to piece, quilt & bind.