Bespoke quilt gifted to Hospice

A bespoke quilt hand-stitched with love, meaning and symbolism was presented by Warkworth Quilters Guild to Warkworth Wellsford Hospice in a special ceremony at Tui House on Wednesday, July 5.

Rather than being purely decorative or made for patients’ use, as many quilts donated to Hospice are, this particular quilt is being used by the education and learning team as a tangible and symbolic example of what integrated palliative care provides for patients and families.

The design features a tui at its centre – for Tui House – surrounded by the hands of its seven makers, plus branches of vines, oak leaves, kowhai and pohutukawa flowers, with birds in each corner – tui, kereru, ruru and Warkworth’s famous ducks crossing.

The quilt’s edges are embroidered with the four key tenets of what Hospice provides: Taha Hinengaro – mental and emotional wellbeing; Taha Tinana – physical wellbeing; Taha Whanau – family and social wellbeing; Taha Wairua – spiritual wellbeing.

More than a dozen quilters guild members, Hospice staff and volunteers attended the presentation, including kaiāwhina Māori Barb O’Loughlin, who blessed the quilt with a karakia.

With everyone present holding a part of the quilt, Hospice education and learning team leader Claire Turnham said the quilt would be used to teach staff and volunteers about the holistic nature of palliative care.

“It’s a physical representation of what hospice is all about. We all come together, holding each other, imagining our patients and putting them in the centre of all these points with the quilt wrapped around them,” she said.

“It’s all part of the integrated care we provide – it’s about us all holding and focusing and keeping the patients and their families at the centre of all we do. It gives another dimension to the information we can provide.”

She acknowledged the hard work that had gone into the piece by Warkworth Quilters and said everyone was very grateful for such an “amazing and very precious” gift.

The quilt was presented by Warkworth Quilters member Jenny Howlett, who is no stranger to the Tui House team – she has been volunteering for Hospice herself for more than 25 years.

She said that while the quilt itself, together with a quilted carry-bag, took a while to produce, it had been a pleasure making something so meaningful for Tui House.

As well as Howlett, the quilt was stitched by Joan Willis, Jean Gardner, Jan Blamey, Christine Thompson, Pat Vaissiere and Margaret Clayton.