A beautiful quilt has been created by patients being treated at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, with support from the Sew Happy Quilter’s Association.
Our wonderful Wellbeing Service, based at The Alex in Brighton, organises lots of different activities for children spending time in the hospital.
Spending lots of time in hospital can be boring, with nothing to do but wait for an operation, treatment, or recovery. This can also mean that children and young people can feel anxious, stressed or low, none of which help with their mental health or wellbeing.
The Wellbeing Service aims to combat these feeling with activities like live music, therapy dogs, wellbeing packs and massages. They have also helped to provide a fantastic quilting project giving patients the chance to get creative, learn new skills and contribute to a very special collaborative final artwork.
The project began following an introductory training session organised by the Wellbeing team, then the follow up workshops were led by Ann and Anna, hospital teachers at The Alex Schoolroom, with guest appearances from the specialist quilting tutor Rachel D’Ambrosio from the Sew Happy Quilters Association.
The sessions were supported by Jess and Ellie from the Rockinghorse Wellbeing Team and members of the Play Team, particularly Harry, whose enthusiasm helped make the sessions a real a success.
Every Friday, the schoolroom was filled with colour, creativity and conversation as children, young people and their parents to create their own quilt squares. The sessions became a regular and much-loved part of the week, providing a chance to relax, socialise and focus on something enjoyable during their hospital stay.
Each patch that was created told its own story. Each person chose themes that were meaningful to them, including favourite hobbies, sports, pets or animals. The finished collection of quilted squares includes hearts, sporting designs, the Deaf Power symbol and many other imaginative creations.
Some of the children and young people worked on their own while others joined forces, sharing ideas and creating their squares together, and the final result is a wonderful reflection of the individuality, creativity and resilience of may of the young people who took part.
The project recently finished with a final session in the schoolroom and now the first batch of quilted patches have been brought together and sewn into a beautiful quilt, with the remaining patches being taken by Rachel from the Sew Happy Quiter’s Association to create a second quilt.
And if you would like to take a look at the finished quilts, they will be on display at the Sew Happy Quilter’s Association show, taking place on 5 and 6 September at Brighton Racecourse. It will also be a great chance to celebrate the incredible work created by patients and their families.
Jess Linton, Wellbeing Service Manager for Rockinghorse, said, “This project has brought so much enjoyment to children, young people and parents throughout the year. Thanks to the support of Sew Happy Quilters and our partners, quilting will continue at The Alex next year, ensuring that many more children have the opportunity to discover the enjoyment and sense of collaboration that this project has inspired.”
We would like to extend a huge thank you to Rachel and everyone at the Sew Happy Quilters Association. They have generously donated their time, expertise and an amazing collection of beautifully organised resources, helping children and young people enjoy quilting over the course of the project.
We would also like to thank Sewline for their kind donation of fabric glue sticks. Their support has enabled the Sew Happy Quilters to create take-home quilting packs for children and young people to use in the future, allowing them to continue being creative beyond their time in hospital.
To find out more about our Wellbeing Service, just click here.
