November 25, 2021

From Susanna:

Time stitching: 250 hours

On February 23, 2020, I thought I was coming down with the flu and a horrific sore throat. Flu and strep tests came back negative. This was before testing and certainly before a vaccine. By day 6, I wondered if it could be COVID-19, but my doctors scoffed—I hadn’t been to China or Italy. On day 8, an urgent care doctor prescribed a course of steroids that may have saved me. I had a fever for 20 days and knew this was not something I had ever had. Despite being a healthy, active 47-year-old, I thought I might die. (I wrote about the experience to share with others unable to find resources and perhaps feeling they were crazy.) By now, my doctors agree it was COVID.

After that harrowing experience, I was especially moved to see the “Stitching the Situation” exhibition at the Denver Art Museum. I grew up cross-stitching and, as an adult, have been a crocheter, knitter, and needlepointer. I immediately wrote to Heather Schulte to request a block to work on, which I received in late October 2021.

While I was still contemplating a design, my friend Cathy Burke’s parents became ill and were hospitalized with COVID-19. Her father returned home. Her mother did not. Carolyn Burke passed away on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2021.

Given the opportunity, I wanted to memorialize my friend’s mother—herself a needlecrafter—and so I asked Heather if I could swap dates. When I saw a photo of Carolyn carving a Thanksgiving turkey, I knew I had my main theme.

It has been an honor to work on this project for the past three-plus years, among all the other bits of life (and having COVID three more times). Along the way, Cathy and her family have cheered me on. I hope it offers them solace and a bit of joy to have Carolyn remembered in this way. Her portrait represents the idea that each person impacted by COVID has a life, personality, and loved ones, and each one matters.