This blessing incorporated a sweet new element: the Big Sister circle, where the children were wrapped with the same red yarn that ties us all together in birth, in blood, and in love.
Within the past week, I have received three squares for the Safe Motherhood Quilt project. Two of these squares are for the quilt panels already underway, and the third is for the special quilt devoted to women who died of Amniotic Fluid Embolism. I am privileged to share with you these compassionate, thoughtful, and beautifully crafted tributes to three mothers.
On December 21, 2001, Gwyneth Vives, 36, gave birth to a son. Her nurses at Los Alamos Medical Center, Santa Fe, New Mexico, reported that she and her baby were bonding well. Three hours later Gwyneth Vives was dead. The autopsy report put the cause to exsanguination following amniotic fluid embolism. Vives' labor was induced with Pitocin. She suffered a serious cervical laceration during delivery.
Susan Ryan Finch Simpson, 30, a physical therapist, died unexpectedly Friday, May 22, 2009, at Mary Rutan Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, after giving birth to a healthy baby girl. Susan contracted bacterial meningitis after a routine anesthetic epidural. Her obituary reads, "a loving mother, wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter and aunt, she had an exuberant smile, loving eyes and was full of energy." She is survived by her husband, James Nathaniel Simpson, and their two daughters, Lilian Ryan Simpson, 14 months, and Olivia Sue Simpson, born May 21, 2009.
If you would like to create a special square for a mother who has died of pregnancy or childbirth related causes in America, please contact me or post a comment here.
Camp B has been so good for us, in a way I had never anticipated. Sickness has caused us to set aside our expectations. We had a full 'camp' schedule that got thrown out the window sometime earlier this week, yet we are all still having a great time noticing the common thread that presents itself on any given day. It is a great exercise in theme learning.
I told Big B that a huge part of pulling off a magic trick is believability--not to be confused with lying, as this is for entertainment--and we rehearsed his 'shtick:' "My breath is soooo cold, I can freeze water just by breathing on it!" He poured the water into the pre-sponged opaque cup.
He then breathed over the cup, with great gusto, 'freezing' the water as the sponge absorbed it.
Of course, when he poured out the water, it was an ice cube--proving to his captive audience that his breath was, indeed, cold enough to freeze water.
Big B is a compassionate and caring big brother, as well as a curious and creative scientist. Mixing the tincture with juice and preparing a dosage of 'magic potion' for little b was a perfect job for him.
We went out in our backyard to explore our own everyday magic. Big B spied this mushroom hiding under our ginger, and he thought it must be a magical little thing, as it just appeared out of nowhere!
Another special delivery of magic came from our dear friend and midwife, who brought us copal, a Mayan incense burnt during the highest of rituals. As I had every intention of attending our monthly New Moon Circle, this was a perfectly magical and timely gift.
However, by day's end, everyone in my little house was sick but me, so I nestled in to take care of my sweet family. Sickness can bring some bad funk into a home, so we cleared the energy with a nod to some good magic from the New Moon Circle, sage smudging.
I am hopeful that tomorrow, the last day of Camp B, will bring us the same lack of expectation that today brought. Without expectations, we can simply enjoy each other, in the moment we're experiencing. When we are able to see the beauty in the ordinary, in the mushroom outside after the rain, in thoughtful gifts from good friends, in snuggling sick ones on the couch...these are the moments when the real magic happens.
I haven't felt the urge to knit in months. It's hot. It's humid. Almost sticky, Florida summer heat. But when I saw Orlando midwife Jennie Joseph's campaign to raise awareness about infant mortality in the United States, I knew it was time to pick up the needles. I cast on 64 stitches and alternated knit and purl rows for about an inch, creating a garter stitch. I switched to stockinette until the hat measured about 4", then began my decrease, K8, K2TOG, then K7, K2TOG, etc.
Last night was the Full Moon in Capricorn. According to astrologist Lisa Dale Miller, this Full Moon exemplifies perseverance, as Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) is "the great teacher of how to handle hardship, struggle and reality, with commitment, follow-through and guts." No one could personify this spirit better than Maddy Oden.
Maddy channeled her unbelievable grief into years of hard work, and in 2003, The Tatia Oden French Memorial Foundation, a non-profit corporation, was formed to give women of childbearing age complete information concerning medical interventions and drugs which are administered during childbirth.
This photograph is the only one I could find of Tatia pregnant with Zorah. Her quiet, graceful contemplation of their shared future is so beautiful, it needed to be captured. There are only a few African inspired prints in my collection, and I let them guide me. The yellowish background was leftover from the African batik project we did at Big B's preschool. I also had one piece of white gauze left from the prayer flag project, which I used to mimic the dress Tatia is wearing in the photo. 
I used only fusible webbing to piece this square; not a stitch was sewn. I like the raw edges. They speak to the unfinished business that Tatia and Zorah left behind, which is now Maddy's life's work.
There are still several names on the AFE quilt, as well as the Safe Motherhood Quilt, that need to be honored. If you would like to create a special square for a mother who has died of pregnancy or childbirth related causes in America, please contact me or post a comment here.
I am honored to have been featured as a guest blogger on today's Quilting Gallery blog, discussing The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project. Please visit the Gallery and read more about the project and how you can get involved.
I received in the mail today the first square from a growing list of quilters who have found The Safe Motherhood Quilt Project through my blog. Marianne Ogg is a young mother who has been quilting for 20 years, and it shows, through her craftsmanship and perfect piecing. Thank you, Marianne, for becoming involved in this project. I have added your name to a sidebar that I hope will continue to grow as we help Ina May Gaskin bring awareness to American maternal mortality.
Two days after her death on May 25, 2009, Kerry's infant son Austin died in Dean's arms. Marianne chose the background fabric for the square because it reminded her of water, and Kerry was involved in promoting youth swimming programs.
The events of the day held a myriad of emotions for me. A sick little b and a soaked cell phone greeted me when I woke, sending me a clear message to slow things down a bit. I listened. I held little b all morning long, in the sling he hasn't requested in months. We read books, we played, we nursed. We went to pick up Big B from school, full of gratitude for these moments in our day. The three of us continued the slow pace, enjoying simply coexisting the afternoon away. I was grateful to be a mother, and grateful to be with my children.
...this is a home on The Farm, the home of Ina May Gaskin, the home of one of the true heroes of my life. The package contained a quilt top with eighteen squares from her Safe Motherhood Quilt Project. When I took the neatly folded 15'x3' panel from the envelope, this was the square on top. I couldn't believe my eyes.
Jennifer Wollheim was a midwife in Gainesville, Florida. When she died giving birth to baby Lila, the midwifery community rallied, helping her husband Neal with their new baby in whatever way they could. This included donations of pumped breastmilk for Lila. My dear friend was able to give to Lila in this way, finding the strength within her own tragedy to provide much-needed help for a suffering family.
Now I will select a backing and finish and bind the quilt, and return it to The Farm to join several others already completed. Papa and I laid out the panel in the driveway, and within moments our neighbors walked over, curious. I could watch Ina May's intention at work as a bit of visual realization crept onto the faces of our friends. 
I'm thankful that things were slowed this morning, and proud that we all felt happy just to be in each other's presence. I was reminded today of the importance of each moment, in a very real way.
