Raffle Rug on Tour. Get Your Tickets Here!

Many of you who follow our blog will remember that the Tuesday group at the Maine studio made a beautiful hit or miss approximately 3' x 5' floor rug to benefit the Maine Medical Center Kidney Transplant Center's Family Assistance Program. Patients who benefit from this program receive much needed assistance with travel, lodging, or any other medical care related expenses MMC feels are appropriate to help with. This rug is going to hit the road this year to be displayed and have tickets sold. The winning ticket will be drawn at the 4th Annual Paris Hill Hook In on November 5th. You need not be present to win! For instructions on how to contact us for raffle tickets, click HERE. Let me explain the profound meaning of this project again for those who may be new to our page. We did it for these ladies right here, and everyone else who finds themselves in need of kidney transplantation. This rug is nothing less than a wool on linen manifestation of love and support, for our own friends and for people we will never know. Irene knew from a very young age that she would have this disease and need a kidney transplant. Irene had polycystic kidney disease, which is inherited. She lost her mother to this disease at a very young age before we had widespread dialysis and any possibility of kidney transplantation. And yet, Irene was an inspiration to us all in the grace with which she handled this illness. Many others in Irene's family have grappled with this disease, but Irene was fortunate: her husband Ron was a match! Ron Adams is the talented man who makes our Bear Pond Wood Works hooking frames and other pine accessories and decor items, but he is so much more than a talented artisan. Ron gave Irene her life back by donating his kidney to her, and, in so doing, became the oldest donor in the history of MMC's program. This was an amazing story of love and dedication from beginning to end, and we were privileged to witness it. Cindy's kidney disease was not inherited and was so incredibly rare that she observed it would be more likely to win the Powerball lottery than to have this disease. It came to Cindy out of the blue, with no warning or expectation. Unlike Irene, Cindy did require dialysis for a long time prior to her donor being found, and we all learned what a hardship this is for the patients and families affected. Cindy lives in rural western Maine and needed to drive a long distance - including in Maine snowstorms - to receive dialysis two or more times a week. This is expensive and exhausting. However, as a testament to Cindy's determination and resilience, on her days between dialysis she continued to come to hooking group and participate in life with everything she had, even when she didn't feel well. Cindy's kidney came as a gift from a nonliving donor, someone who had made a decision at some point in his life that he wanted to possibly save another. Please consider making this decision yourself. Cindy is living proof that it makes a big difference to someone special, and thereby, to all of us too. I will be taking this rug on the road with me so that it can be seen by as many people as possible and will update our Rug Raffle page with dates and places. Here are some that are upcoming: April 30th - The Spring Fever Hook In in Brunswick, Maine, sponsored by Cherylyn Brubaker of Hooked Treasures. May 13th - 16th - The May Fair by the Home Garden Flower Show, Fryeburg, Maine June 1st - 5th - My class at the The Squam Art Workshops, Holderness, NH June 25th - My workshop at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, Maine July 24th - Open Farm Day at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, Maine September 17th & 18th - Sharon Springs Harvest Festival, Sharon Springs, NY October 8th - Harvest Festival at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village, New Gloucester, Maine October 19th - 23rd - Will be requesting permission to display the rug at Hooked in the Mountains, Essex Junction, Vermont. This is not yet determined. Stay tuned. And always at all Tuesday hooking days and for all workshops and classes held at the Maine studio. If you would like this rug displayed at your event or would like a block of tickets to sell to your group or your friends, by all means contact me at parrishousewoolworks@gmail.com or 207-890-8490. More dates and places to be announced! Please help us support patients and families going through kidney dialysis and transplant. Happy giving and happy hooking. - Beth

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