I am a retired secondary school teacher, who worked for 33 years in the Victorian Education Department.
For several years, my husband Ken and I have travelled to the outback with the VISE organisation.
On returning in 2003, I was diagnosed with cancer. Surgery, chemo and radiation followed over the next 12 months and I was on the road to recovery. The chemo caused me to lose a lot of sensitivity in my fingers, so as rehabilitation/therapy I began work on an ABC quilt for my great-nephew in America. Since it would be going overseas, I included a lot of Australian material.
About 12 months later the quilt was completed and deemed a success! Ken was enthralled and felt it should not leave Australia without some record. At his own expense, he enlisted the skills of our local printer, Carbon Copy of Pambula, NSW to produce a poster using the embroidered and appliqued motifs. And then he thought it would make a very good book!
Working on the theory that children who are read to from an early age develop a love of reading and become higher achievers later on, I made the quilt to be read to or with young children, and of course the book should be read to young children.
The work was all done, begging to be used in some helpful way!
We've applied for renewal of our Blue Cards, so we may get to the outback again, but if we don't, we still have a desire to be useful and to make a contribution and in some way "pay back" for the help and care I received while I was ill.
We want to assist the Cancer Council, the hospitals where I was treated (directly or indirectly), VISE and our local aged care facility too.
But this is not just a book with the basic bat, cat and rat ABC...
I tried to put a lot more in there for children to enjoy and absorb when the book is read to them. It's elementary of course, but there is some art, English, history, geography, maths, some humour and stimulation for a child's imagination. And we hope some inspiration for parents to weave a few bedtime stories so their children can dream some stories of their own...
Barbara and Ken Evans
