A lovingly crafted tribute to an Angus palliative care charity figurehead is raising vital funds for the hospice she worked so hard to create.
Liz Forsyth led Lippen Care in the campaign which raised a remarkable £1 million to build the Strathmore Hospice in Forfar.
The charity’s partnership with NHS Tayside to deliver the end of life facility as part of the Whitehills Health and Community Care Centre in 2005 was the first of its kind in Scotland.
A former chairwoman of Tayside Primary Care Trust and Voluntary Action Angus, Liz passed away last summer after a lifetime dedicated to helping the communities she lived in.
Sister’s talent creates stunning item
Now, her devoted sister has created a unique embroidered quilt which is being raffled to raise money for the charity.
Liz’s family hope the stunning piece will become a treasured heirloom for its lucky winner.
Skilled needlworker Anne Hood, from Maidstone in Kent intricately embroidered, appliquéd and sewed 120 squares with a multi-coloured flower design.
Anne, 80, then patchworked them to create the outstanding quilt.
Into the back corner is sewn the dedication: “Where flowers bloom, so does hope. Sewn with love in memory of my loving sister Elizabeth Forsyth in support of Lippen Care. Anne Hood 2021”.
Tickets are being sold through organisations and friends of Lippen Care across Angus.
The quilt is being displayed at events such as farmers’ markets and festive fairs between now and the raffle ending on December 20.
Lippen Care said: “This is a beautiful quilt and has taken many, many hours of loving and highly skilled work by Anne.
“We feel privileged to have been given it.
“Seeing it up close, it is amazing how much detail she has been able to include in every square and the eventual winner will become the owner of what is worthy of becoming a family heirloom.”
Husband’s pride in finished piece
Liz’s husband, Brian, said a great deal of thought had gone into piece.
“Anne tells me that the squares are appliqued flowers which represent Liz’s love of her garden.
“The machine quilted parts of the design are in the form of the Paisley pattern – the emblem of the town where Liz was born.”
The couple celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in February 2020 and Liz passed away in July that year, just two month after her 70th birthday.
Lifelong commitment to supporting others
Liz had a passion for the voluntary sector throughout her life – her first volunteering role being with the Tom Allan Centre in Glasgow.
She was involved with the children’s panel in both Strathclyde and Highland, and Citizens Advice Bureau, firstly in Inverness and then as one of the pioneers to establish CAB in Angus.
A trained counsellor with the Tayside Cancer Support Group, Liz was also a manager and accredited mediator for Family Mediation Tayside.
She also supervised the counsellors working for the Tayside Council of Alcohol and was on the board of the national committee of SACRO, the national organisation for the rehabilitation of offenders.
For 25 years, the couple, who have two daughters, lived in Westmuir, Kirriemuir and Liz set up her own craft business there.
It reflected the lifelong love of crafts and creativity she shared with her sister.
She joined NHS Tayside as a board member in 1999 and was chairman of Tayside Primary Care Trust, as well as chairman of Voluntary Action Angus.
A tree planted in the garden of the Strathmore Hospice honours her contribution to Lippen Care.
Brian added: “It was always Liz’s way, having identified a lack of services in her local community, to then help establish and grow a much needed voluntary organisation before quietly bowing out, leaving a lasting legacy for the benefit of many.”
“Her funeral, so heavily restricted in numbers as it was during the peak of the pandemic lockdown, in many ways mirrored that: A life well lived for others, with just a quiet farewell. She would have approved.”
David’s Tannadice take on local life recorded in Angus community council’s hospice charity book