Hi! My name is Sandy Riggs and I have a fun project I'd like to share with you!
This is my son, David...the inspiration for this project.
The "Angel Pillows Project" was developed in May 2002 as a volunteer program to bless the lives of grieving and traumatized children and families. The project is important to me because I have experienced grief and trauma in my own life on occasion and have seen how something very small can seem so big when a heart is aching.
In April 1992, our five year old son, David, was killed in a car accident as he and his Grandma were traveling to Grandma's house for an overnight visit. David's death has changed my life in profound ways, too many to really elaborate on here. Perhaps the greatest lessons I've learned through experiencing David's life and death is that life is so precious.
I've also learned that as I cope with David's death, it's the little things that people do to bring me and my family comfort that are so appreciated and helpful.
Over the years I've battled with all the stages of grief...sometimes over and over again. The glue that has kept me "together" is my faith in eternal life and the realization that , although some days I may think I am alone, I am never alone in my grief.
I started the Angel Pillows Project with the goal of blessing lives...and in the process, my own life has been blessed. I have found great joy, solace and peace in serving others in this small way.
Now, I bet you have a few questions. Hopefully, I can answer some of them for you!
- I want to help ...what do I do?
If you like to sew, crochet, knit or cross stitch, gather your materials and make some angel pillows to give to your local hospital, cancer support group, grief support group, etc. You can use your own patterns of angels if you'd like or please feel free to use the angel cross stitch patterns here at Bev's Country Cottage.
The Angel Girl pattern is the first pattern I designed for this project and she looks very cute stitched up as a pillow. This is also a fun project to get family members involved in...my daughter has enjoyed helping me with a few pillows and is quite creative herself!
- How large are the pillows?
Sizes vary . The angel girl pattern stitched on 11 Count Aida fabric is 5-5/8 inches wide X 4-3/4 inches high. I center my pattern on the fabric, leaving ample room for seams (approximately a couple of inches around). The Aida fabric is the front panel of the pillow. I use a cotton fabric cut to the same size as the finished front panel for the back panel of the pillow. If you use a larger count aida fabric, your finished design will be smaller. It's really up to you.
Take a look at what some of my finished pillows look like:
- How do I distribute the pillows?
Call your local hospital or support groups and find out who is in charge of charitable contributions for their particular business/agency. Establish contact with agency's coordinator and set up a time to deliver pillows. Be sure to ask your contact person how many pillows may be needed, when a good time to deliver them is, exactly where they should be delivered, etc.
* I am currently making and sending angel pillows to a contact person in Ontario , Canada who will distribute them at Christmas time to children with cancer. If anyone is interested in helping fill the quota needed for this project, please email me and I will send you the information you will need.
Thank you in advance for blessing the lives of children and families. Have fun and know that your efforts are greatly appreciated!
