Article archive / February 1, 2010
Originally published: . Volume 1, No. 6. Source pages: 11, 12.
Psychologists know that decompressing is an important task in modern life, and usually try and make time to follow their own advice. Dr. Kim VanGeffen’s hobby not only provides her an outlet for creativity and a little precious solitude, but works well for putting the concerns of a busy, dedicated psychologist away for some well-deserved leisure time.
“I remember that the first time I actually felt relaxed after Hurricane Katrina,” she said. “It was when I did this particular counted cross-stitch project while riding on a train in upstate New York. Because counted cross-stitch requires working from a graph, you have to really concentrate and block out all other thoughts. Plus, it's a great activity for people with an obsessive- compulsive bent because you get to do all of this repeated counting!”
She has enjoyed craft activities since a young girl, starting in Brownies and Girl Scouts. She said she always looked forward to those meetings when the group would be involved in working on and learning new crafts. “ When I was in high school,” she said, “my mother and several of her friends opened a needlework shop in New Orleans. They featured crafts such as needlepoint, counted cross-stitch, knitting and quilting. I began to take classes and fell in love with all of these creative activities.”
In recent years, Kim has done mostly counted cross-stitch and quilting. “I find these activities to be very relaxing because they absorb your full attention.”
Unfortunately, she lost almost all of her hand knitted sweaters and cross-stitch and needlework projects in Hurricane Katrina. “The floodwaters were so caustic that when I tried to rescue my all time favorite cross-stitch project which was, ironically, a Hurricane Tracking Chart, it disintegrated into pieces when I put it in water. It was heartbreaking but, luckily, I was able to find the exact same graph of this project. I recently completed it and it now sits on the mantle of my new home. It can actually be used to track hurricanes.”
Kim has greatly enjoyed making quilts and has followed the time honored tradition of quilters world wide; creating works of folk art that embrace meaning, memories and the traditions of one’s family or group, and that last through generations. The first quilt Kim ever made was a lap quilt in various shades of blue that she gave to her mother at Christmas, 1981. After her mother died, the quilt came back to Kim. She said, “I am thrilled to have it.”
“Another quilt which came back to me was one I made for a dear friend who died of breast cancer in 2006. When she was going through chemotherapy, some other friends and I took turns staying with her. I spent that difficult time making quilts which I gave to friends at Christmas.”
Several of Kim’s quilts are owned by LPA members.
“When I was involved with LPA's previous political action committee, LaPLAN, we would have raffles at the conventions in order to raise funds. For several years, I made and raffled quilts. So my quilts are all over Louisiana and I hope owned proudly.”
In regard to future creative efforts, Dr. VanGeffen said, “They say you are a true crafter if you have in your closets more projects than you could ever complete in a lifetime. Since Hurricane Katrina, I've been slowly but surely working toward this goal!”
Dr. VanGeffen with quilt she made for her mother.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.