Quilters’ gifts bring warmth, encouragement to cancer patients at Hospitality Houses

The Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center have been a refuge for thousands of visitors as they travel to the hospital for treatment. The houses provide a welcoming, home-like atmosphere for cancer patients and their families who must travel at least 30 miles to receive cancer treatment.

The Hospitality Houses are supported through generous donations from the community. For the last 10 years, one community organization, the Ritzy Thimble Quilters’ Guild, has offered a unique kind of support to the cancer patients at the Hospitality Houses.

The guild has provided lap quilts for each patient staying at the houses so that, as they receive chemotherapy or other treatment, their “security blanket” remind them of the love and support being extended to them during their course of treatment. While each quilt is different, they are all made in the same pattern of generosity and compassion.

Guests choose their quilt at the beginning of their stay and often use these cozy pieces of art throughout their treatments. Patients receiving chemotherapy are often cold, and it is not uncommon for patients to take their quilts with them during treatment. While the fabric keeps bodies warm, the detail and thought that goes into each Ritzy Thimble quilt keep up spirits.

In June, the Ritzy Thimble Quilters’ Guild held a show-and-tell session at Methodist Medical Center where the quilts were displayed and admired by fellow quilters. The room was filled with color from the 25 quilts on display, which were this year’s donation to Methodist’s Hospitality Houses.

This year’s theme was remembrance quilts. Many quilters made their quilts in memory of someone special to them… a father who loved trees… a friend lost to cancer… the woman who first shared the art of quilting… a star pattern in memory of a colonel, fabric scraps from other projects… scraps given by friends… colors and patterns that evoke memories from the past.

“There is nothing like a quilt and the memories that they evoke,” said Debbie Scarbrough, Hospitality House coordinator at Methodist Medical Center.

Quilts tell a story like few other items can. Whether it’s the visual created through pattern, color, or fabric, or whether it’s a whisper of a memory that speaks to the recipient, these quilts are filled with life, because they are made of memories.

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of this special partnership, the Hospitality Houses and Methodist Medical Center held a special reception honoring the Ritzy Thimble Quilters and their continued dedication to the houses and the cancer patients who find refuge there.

‘Thank you for 10 beautiful years,” Scarbrough said. “Every stitch that you made is going to keep someone warm.”

Mike Belbeck, president and chief administrative officer at Methodist Medical Center was also present to thank the quilters for their long-time commitment to this project.

“This is one of the most special things I’ve come across in my six years here at Methodist,” Belbeck said. “You think about what a quilt means—warmth, security, comfort—that’s what you give when you make these quilts.”