A stitch in time...
... Turns into a case of lost and found for a P.G. family
There’s always a story behind any handmade quilt.
Most certainly a labour of love, the time that goes into making them puts a value on a quilt that usually far exceeds what it might fetch on the open market.
In fact, it might become valuable enough to inspire a miracle.
Jack Nylund is convinced of that.
The quilt his wife Dawn started in 2005, two years before she died of cancer, was given to a group of her fellow quilters from St. Michael’s church along with the rest of her quilting equipment. It took them five years to complete the patchwork quilt and it became the group’s raffle item for the Prince George Exhibition in August. Nylund hadn’t thought about the work his wife began until he saw the finished product being displayed at the annual fair.
“When I saw it, and they told me it was the quilt Dawn started, I became obsessed with it,” said Nylund. “I had to have it.”
Nylund wanted the quilt to give to his daughter Robin, an intensive care hospital nurse who now lives with her family in Australia. Had Nylund known it was destined for the draw before it became a raffle prize, he would have made an offer to buy it from the quilting group.
He tried to win it fair and square, and stuffed the draw bin. The ladies of St. Michael’s bought tickets themselves in Nylund’s name and encouraged others to do the same. They told Nylund if anyone they knew won it, they would hand it over to him. But with more than 3,000 tickets sold their chances were slim, and they didn’t win it.
Tina Cousins did. Her name was drawn two weeks ago.
“I always go to the PGX and I always buy raffle tickets when I go,” said Cousins. “When I won the quilt, I was talking to to the lady and she told me the story of the quilt and about the lady who started it, Dawn Nylund. I knew her quite well. She was a beautiful person.”
Cousins had known Dawn Nylund since she was six years old when Dawn was her leader in Brownies and visited her regularly after she retired as an elementary school teacher. Also in that group was Cousin’s mother Barbara, a Brownie leader, and Robin, who became one of Cousins’ best friends.
When Cousins learned Jack was hoping to give the quilt to Robin as a family heirloom, she phoned him and said she wanted to give it to him.
“I knew Robin was in Australia and I’ve been organizing a grad reunion so we’ve been in contact on Facebook for the last six months,” said Cousins. “She was very excited to hear the story. I was going to give her the quilt at the reunion in July but Jack is going to Australia in March so he can take it to her then. I’m just glad they could get it back.”
Once Jack knew he would be receiving the quilt, he got on his computer and broke the news to Robin on the other side of the world.
“She sent an email back to me that said, ‘When I’m writing this, I’m crying,’” he said.
“For me, it’s a tremendously positive result. We hope this miracle quilt stays in Robin’s family for many generations to come.”
After hearing about how fate shined on that quilt, the St. Michael’s quilting group has since given Cousins a replacement quilt.
“It’s one of those positive types of stories that makes you glad we live in Prince George,” added Jack.