Here’s how it works. Heather Spence (of Heather Spence Designs) will guide you along for six mysterious weeks. and at the end you will have a gorgeous quilt top. All the while you'll be helping those who suffer from Cancer. We can’t tell you what the pattern looks like, but we can tell you the name of the pattern is “Check it Out.”

MSQC is excited to work with Heather Spence (again!) on a special project called “Mystery Quilt for a Cause.” This is the second super-secret pattern project that has a great purpose: helping people fight cancer!

No donation is required to take part (you can just click the link to the forums and follow along). However we hope you will consider donating if you participate.You can do this through PayPal by clicking on the link to the right. We encourage you to be generous, as your donation will go to a worthy cause, but any donation, big or small is greatly appreciated. To find out more about CancerCare.org and how Heather Spence chose this awesome charity, check out “The Heather Spence Story” below.

For your convenience, kits are available from Missouri Star. The kits feature top-quality, handpicked fabrics from RJR Fabrics , already precut with the right dimensions, ready to begin the mystery quilt.

So, after buckets of tears and much reflection mom decided to go ahead with the transplant. She wanted to see her grandkids grow-up and get married; she wanted to hold great-grandbabies in her arms; she wanted to be with us kids through all of our victories; she wanted to LIVE!

The stem cell transplant was intensive. For more than three months she would need 24-hour care. She would have to live in a special apartment close to the Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle. She would undergo massive chemo to kill off her immune system then the donor's cells (all the way from Boston!) would be flown in and the transplant would take place.

The problem was that though her insurance was REALLY good it still didn’t cover housing, food, gas, 24-hour care, etc. Both my parents were self-employed which meant time away from work and therefore lost wages.

Money was going to be an issue.

My husband and I didn’t have a lot to give (we were recovering financially from the loss of a house) but that’s when I had a brilliant idea. What if I designed a pattern that I could turn into a mystery quilt? I could charge $10 per person, they’d receive the pattern, and they could make their own quilt. It would be fun for quilters and would allow them to help in a tangible way to meet a real need without breaking the bank.

In October 2011 we had our first Mystery Quilt. We raised over $800 for my mom! This didn’t cover all of her expenses, but it certainly helped. Each subsequent Mystery Quilt raised more donations than the one before.

My mom’s story has a happy ending - her cancer is gone! She still has to be on transplant medications but it’s a small price to pay for her life. She tires easily and needs to pay close attention to her health and environment, but it’s a joy to know that she is well and that she is with us.

After the initial success we decided to look to help others suffering from cancer. In order to reach more people and have a greater impact we teamed up with CancerCare.org. CancerCare was founded in 1944 and provides free support services and information to help people manage the emotional, practical, and financial challenges of cancer.

Without going through cancer personally it is difficult to grasp the deep emotional and financial strain that this illness inflicts. Even for me, being so close to my mom throughout the ordeal, it was difficult to understand. Worrying about these burdens is crippling and creates even greater strain on individuals and families. At the same time, it is also difficult to understand the depth of appreciation and gratitude that somebody fighting cancer feels when someone reaches out and helps, even in small ways. You never know the positive influence you can have when someone is going through a difficult situation. It reminds me of a story one gal posted on her blog about the Mystery Quilt and the impact one person can have on another:

There was a man walking down the beach. The tide was out and there were starfish all over the beach that had been caught in the open. Further down the beach was another man stooping over then standing back up and flinging his arm out.

As the first man got closer he realized that the second man was picking up the starfish and throwing them into the sea…one at a time.

The first man asked the second man, “Why are you doing this? You can’t possibly save them all.”

The second man bent over, picked up a starfish, held it out to the first man and said, “No, you’re right. I can’t save them all. But it matters to this one.”

This project mattered to my mom and it matters to many others!!! After eight Mystery Quilts, we’ve raised over $10,000 to help cancer patients with their basic everyday needs so they can focus on beating their cancer!!! This matters to each one of them and it will matter to each person that you touch through your donation.

I thank everyone who participates from the bottom of my heart.

Heather Spence