Heritage Hospice started out in 1979 with one patient. The quilts and wallhangings showcased in this year’s May 11 Memorial Auction started out with one stitch. Both have taken on beautiful meanings.
Carrie Farmer is one of the many women in the four-county area served by Heritage Hospice, Inc. donating their skillful needlework to the second annual auction. The auction aids the nonprofit agency that serves Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln and Mercer counties in its mission of providing compassionate end-of-life care to patients and their families regardless of an individual’s insurance coverage or ability to pay for services.
For Farmer to be the donating artist is a bit of a switch in her household. Husband David, who is known for his colorful oil paintings, usually receives the accolades for his work.
Carrie Farmers also ventures boldly into the world of color. She titled her quilt “Mother Goose,” and her choice of a fabric with a nursery rhyme theme is befitting.
“I was a children’s librarian so I was drawn to that,” says Farmer, who has made 15 to 20 quilts, mostly for family members.
Farmer estimates she has devoted 40 hours to the colorful quilt. Her motivation for giving it away is based on the care Heritage Hospice provided to her mother-in-law.
“They helped us so much with making David’s mother’s end of life, for her and for us, much more peaceful.”
In thinking about the services provided, Farmer says, “They took care of everything.”
Farmer says she does consult with her husband about designs. She finds creating the art therapeutic.
“You use another part of your brain and you get lost in it and hours can go by.”
Farmer’s work joins 15 to 20 other quilted items donated to the auction. Members of Pieceable Friends, Wilderness Trace Art Guild, The Unguild and many individuals have contributed. There also will be 4-foot by 4-foot barn quilts in the auction.
The auction also includes items autographed by baseball legend Nolan Ryan and movie star George Clooney. A trip to France is being offered by Centre College graduates who own a 400-year-old home there. The house accommodates six and the trip would have to be taken in 2013 and does not include airfare.
In 2011, the inaugural year for the Memorial Auction, several artists and students decorated boxes for the auction. Boyle County High School independent art students of Carrie Snow are continuing that tradition by decorating some boxes for this year’s event.
Students in Sonja Baker’s carpentry program at Lincoln County High School prepared the boxes for the art students to decorate.
Carpentry students of Eddie Durr at Mercer County Area Technology Center have donated an Adirondack chair and table, which was a popular item last year.
The auction will feature many other wonderful services, such as Botox, teeth whitening, a 40-inch LCD Samsung TV and Cincinnati Reds tickets.
Theme is casual
The theme this year is a Blue Jean Ball.
Jerry Houck and Lori Goggans, his partner in Table 908 catering company, cooked up the theme.
“We thought, ‘Hospice provides comfort care so put on your jeans and get comfy with us,’” says Houck, who is planning a barbecue buffet.
Entertainment is by Caught Red Handed, a Lexington band that has performed rock music together for 13 years.
Heritage Hospice will pay homage to its legacy by naming the first Margaret Caldwell Spirit of Hospice Award recipients. The announcement will be made at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $50. More information is available by calling (859) 236-2425 or (859) 324-2944. Reservations required by 5 p.m. April 30.
Emily Toadvine is Development and Community Relations Coordinator for Heritage Hospice Inc.
