The Friends of the Baylor Faculty Wives Quilting Group visited with Dr. William Shearer, Terry Raburn, and Theresa Aldape to present quilts for newborns with perinatal exposure to HIV. The group formerly known as The Baylor Faculty Wives Quilting Group and now the daughters and granddaughters of the founding group are quilting beautiful quilts for the newborns seen at Texas Children’s Hospital. This group of quilters has been handcrafting colorful quilts and presenting them to Dr. Shearer for more than 25 years. Several of the quilts presented this year are in memory of Eileen Colquhoun who introduced her daughters to the quilt program and lovingly sewed many quilts herself throughout the years. Each quilt has “With Love and Comfort to You” written on the back panel, and it is signed with the first name of the quilter.
The quilting project known as the “Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt” emerged from a national project started in the mid-1980s, and it was presented across the country. When a loved one passed away due to the complications of AIDS, the family and friends would sew and dedicate a special quilt in their memory. The quilt panels were sewn together to show the increasing number of people who lost their battle to AIDS. Today, the quilt is the largest piece of community folk art in the world. People around the world continue to quilt blankets for newborns with HIV exposure and for children, adolescents, and adults living with HIV/AIDS.
This year the Friends of the Baylor Faculty Wives Quilting Group brought an array of beautifully handcrafted quilts for the newborns being tested for HIV, and seen in the Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology Department at Texas Children’s. We welcome the quilters every year and provide the quilts for newborns seen in the clinic or Clinical Research Center in the Abercrombie Building. The parents of newborns cherish their quilts, and we often see them with their treasured quilt blanket when they return for their appointments at Texas Children’s.
To quilt for newborns and children affected by HIV, please contact Theresa Aldape or call ext. 4-1385.