By Patricia Belyea
Turning 27 is an important threshold for young adults—a time for self-reflection, growth, and hope for what comes next.
Johnathon Shay Readd died on his 27th birthday. Riding his motorcycle, he was clipped by a car turning left into his lane. His death was instant.
Johnny was family — the son of Michael’s niece, Sherri — and the father of three young boys.
A year and a half after his death, Johnny’s sister sent me a sweet letter, a photo of Johnny in grade school, and a small box of miscellaneous items.
Katlyn wrote that Sherri still endured the hardest of nights. She mentioned that purple was both Johnny’s and Sherri’s favorite color, and that Johnny now visited the family in the form of a little hummingbird.
Inside the box were two pairs of heavily stained, pumpkin-colored work pants; clothing from Johnny’s boys; and a piece of a quilted blanket that Johnny slept under for his last night on Earth.
I ordered purple canvas from one Etsy vendor and a hummingbird patch from another.
In November, during a family vacation in western Washington, I set up a sewing studio in front of the picture windows of our rental home. My goal was to complete the quilt in the eight days we were away.
I cut the clothing into strips for a stitch-and-flip style quilt. Nearby at Quilted Strait in Port Gamble — a wonderful quilt shop — I bought mid-weight canvas for the backing.
To avoid family gatherings, I sewed early in the mornings, stitching the strips onto the canvas. As the quilt grew, it became heavier and heavier. The stiffness of the canvas backing also proved to not be very cozy.
Back to Quilted Strait I went, this time for a plush fabric to soften and improve the back.
I took apart the old blanket and salvaged its white-and-gray striped fabric for facing strips. Once attached to all four sides, I hand-stitched the facing down with invisible stitches.
The final step was the label. I made a low-contrast label with yukata cotton and a custom decal, hand stitching it to the front corner of the quilt.
The finished quilt weighs seven pounds and measures 50 inches wide by 82 inches long. It cannot replace Johnny, but it’s large enough to curl up underneath and to find, for a moment, sweet sleep between moments of sadness and loss.
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ABOUT US: Okan Arts, a petite family business, is co-owned by mother-daughter duo Patricia Belyea and Victoria Stone. Patricia and Victoria import vintage Japanese textiles, host in-person and online creative quilting experiences, and lead textile tours to Japan.
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