UW News

July 21, 2005

HMC quilters share art — and recovery

On June 24, the sewing machines whirred at Harborview Medical Center as patients from the Burn, Psychiatry and Rehab units gathered for a two-hour workshop to explore the colorful world of quilting.

Guided by members of the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters, more than 20 patients selected and customized special fabrics, and developed designs for postcard-sized mini-quilts, which were then stitched to completion, on the spot, by the artists.

This special patient event, a collaborative project of the Harborview Art Program and Rehabilitation Medicine, was developed in conjunction with an exhibition of 13 full-scale quilts in the Harborview cafeteria. The idea for the workshop originated with Gwen Maxwell-Williams, a former Harborview employee and the founder of the quilting group.

Maxwell-Williams took up quilting following her retirement from the hospital, but gained proficiency while recovering at home after a major surgery. With more discretionary time, but limited mobility, she was inspired to surround herself with beautiful things, and decided that other people recovering from illness and injury might find the process fun and inspiring, too.

“There’s no wrong way to do it, and it’s just plain fun to develop interesting color and pattern combinations. It can be very expressive, and people with varying skills and abilities can participate. It just brings people together in a colorful, creative way,” she says.

Today, thanks to her effective recruiting methods, the quilting group has about 30 members who not only create quilts, but share their love of fiber art with an appreciative public through exhibitions, publications, and special quilting demonstrations and programs for children and adults.

Back at the workshop, participating patients dove right into their projects as soon as the fabric swatches hit the worktables. Some worked alongside therapists, who helped gather fabrics and decorative elements such as lace, buttons and beads for their patients.

Julia Edwards, a summer intern in the art program, assisted patients who wanted to participate but were not yet ambulatory. A visit from a FOX-TV13 cameraman went nearly unnoticed as patients concentrated on finishing their work, and presenting it proudly to family members and friends. The event was considered so successful that several patients and therapists requested a return engagement; another workshop is being scheduled for this summer. For more information about this event, or about other HMC art-related programming, contact Peggy Weiss at pweiss@u.washington.edu.