Angels Watching Over Randy

made by Judy Kriehn

Note:
This quilt was made for the 2000 Dallas Challenge of the Quilter's Guild of Dallas. This year, the benefitting charity was the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and quilters were encouraged to make a quilt about disease.

Each quilt had to include the challenge fabric provided by P&B Fabrics (the black print with multi-colored bubbles used on the border) and include a nine-patch somewhere in the quilt. I pieced white-on-white fabrics into nine patches that were used as the background and also utilized a nine patch in the construction of the large purple heart in the lower left corner.

Quilts were voted on by the membership for award ribbons. It tied for third place.

When people think of juvenile diabetes, they probably think about the insulin injections and having to be careful with diet. What they don’t think about, however, is the long-term effects the disease can have on a person. For the past twenty years, I have worked for the Garland Independent School District. This quilt was made in honor of my friend, Dr. Randy Clark, a long-time member of our Board of Trustees.

Randy was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was in junior high school but didn’t allow the disease to slow him down. He served as student council president at his alma mater, Garland High School, and from all reports was a standout as a student leader. He went on to attend Texas A&M University, then on to Baylor College of Dentistry. He established a successful dental practice in his hometown of Garland, Texas. Along the way, he married his high school sweetheart Janie, and they had two children - Ryan and Reagan. Life was good.

detail: The guardian angel

But then, diabetes began to take its toll. Randy’s eyesight began failing, eventually leading to a cornea transplant. Then his kidneys failed. His younger brother Chris donated a kidney, which gave Randy a new lease on life. However, between his still bad eyesight and his now weakened immune system, Randy had to give up his dental practice. Then, his heart began to fail. He was placed on a transplant list, and in November, 1993, received a heart/pancreas transplant, thereby becoming one of only five people worldwide at that time to have received three transplanted organs.

The new pancreas meant that he would no longer be a diabetic; however, the damage from all the previous years was already done. While Randy thrived with his new heart, the kidney donated by his brother had suffered irreversible damage during the wait for the new heart, and again Randy had to go on dialysis as he waited for another kidney. He received a second transplanted kidney in 1995. As if this weren’t enough for one person to endure, he also eventually lost both legs beneath the knee when wounds were not able to heal properly.

detail of lower part of quilt

Symbolism in the quilt:

The gestural human figure in the center left of the quilt represents Randy.
The large heart that is broken in two in the lower left corner represents Randy’s old heart and the positioning of the figure emerging from the old heart represents his rebirth.
The chartreuse heart is his new heart.
The three purple hearts in the center represent his family - Janie, Ryan, and Reagan.
The four pink hearts flanking his family represent the four generous individuals who were organ donors.
A guardian angel is placed in the quilt for obvious reasons; angels cared for the Clark family in their darkest hours, and walk beside them today.

Randy (left) and his family (l-r) Ryan, Reagan, and Janie

I want a cure for juvenile diabetes to be found, because nobody should have to endure what Randy has endured. While this quilt is a celebration of hope and life, the reasons for its making are not pretty.

Credits:

Randy's close friend Steve Hill, also a member of the GISD Board of Trustees, helped me with the details in the story and "brainstormed" with me the symbolism used. The guardian angel was his suggestion.

My aunt, Suellen Gratke, helped me fine-tune the placement of the various elements and "edit" my pile of fabrics.

Construction:

Most of the quilt is hand appliqued using a technique that is sort of a mish-mash of styles.

I draw a full-sized mock-up of the quilt design on tracing paper, then trace the individual elements backwards on fusible. The fusible is then fused to a thin fleece, and then I fuse the fleece to the reverse of the fabrics. This allows me to make elements slightly "dimensional," even before quilting. The angel is made using techniques described in Linda McGehee's Texture in Textiles book. Fabric is wadded/twisted up, and dried that way - then I used the wrinkles to create the drape in the angels hair and clothing. The fusing-to-the-fleece part makes the wrinkles permanent.

The white on white background was foundation paper-pieced to ensure that the blocks would be consistent

The quilt is machine-quilted, using invisible Sulky thread. The invisible Sulky thread is (in my opinion) better than the other monofilaments, because it is heat-resistant. It will not deteriorate in sunlight or if the quilt has to be ironed for some reason.

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