Every quilt tells a story.

A masterpiece by Mary Storm tells the story of the Palmerton woman’s journey with breast cancer and the love for the children at the Watch Me Grow day care center.

A retired hair stylist, Storm began helping out in the mornings at the center. She has spent the last five years quilting, but wanted to feed her love for children.

A member of the Sew What quilt guild, she was excited about the Airing of the Quilts and talked to co-owner Lisa Anthony about one for the center.

Her plans were interrupted on Oct. 3. A mammogram was followed by an ultrasound, biopsy and a diagnosis. She had a port installed for chemotherapy and on Dec. 15, she had her first treatment - six to seven hours every other Friday.

Treatment and the side effects have been difficult for Storm.

“I became very fatigued,” Storm said. She was able to sew binding during the infusions, and the former hairdresser quickly lost her hair.

She had clients, over the years, who had cancer. She lost her mother and sister to cancer. She knew what was coming. “I said I wasn’t going to wear a wig.”

As a member of the Red Hat Ruby Belles chapter, she has a good supply of hats and made use of them.

She got a pixie hair cut so the loss of hair wasn’t as dramatic, but the hair loss came quickly.

Her last treatment was March 29. Thirty days later, she had surgery, so she had to work fast. The quilt had to be done by April 30.

She sent blocks to the school with her daughter-in-law Pam, and children and staff picked the color and fabric they liked.

The staff helped the children trace their hands for the blocks and write their names. Some are outlined on the squares. Others are appliquéd.

Storm had to cut back on her activities at Good Shepherd UMC Church in Slatedale during the treatments. She wasn’t able to drive and had times when she didn’t have the strength.

However, the quilt remained the focus. She’d send photos back and forth to Lisa Anthony.

Terri Trotter does the final quilting, and Storm knew she’d be busy because everyone was trying to get their quilts done for the Airing of the Quilts.

Trotter worked her in, and Storm was able to get it hung in the window at the center right before her surgery last week.

The quilt grew as she include all the children and staff on the 60-plus squares. “The problem when I make quilts is they just get bigger,” Storm said.

This one measured 70 x 84 inches. “It was a perfect fit for the window,” Storm said.

Lisa Anthony said the quilt is a treasure for the day care center. “(Mary) made sure everyone is included, the staff and the kids.”

She plans to keep the quilt in the window for just a week or two to avoid sun damage, then keep at the center as a teaching tool.

“The children were very excited to pick their block and to find their name and hands (on the quilt),” Anthony said.

“The children adore her and miss her.”

Storm is facing 25 radiation treatments in the coming months and immunotherapy. Her attitude remains positive.

“If I hadn’t lost my hair, I wouldn’t know the chemo was working.” Storm said. “I say blessings up every day.”

Between the Sew What quilt guild, Ruby Belles and many friends, “I know I have so many people praying for me,” Storm said.

She lost her husband Lester to multiple myeloma and is staying with her son Jeff and his wife.

Her treatment is aggressive. “The main thing is they caught it early,” she said.

Storm made five quilts in the last year and is finishing a giant maple leaf one now. Cancer isn’t going to stop her love of quilting. “I just have to make adjustments,” she said.

There is a spot in her lung that’s on watch.

“I don’t give up,” she said. “My daddy didn’t raise no sissies.”

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The Watch Me Grow day care center is located at 310 Delaware Ave. The quilt will be on display as part of the inaugural Airing of the Quilts in Palmerton on Saturday.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the town will come alive with the rich tapestry of quilts adorning store fronts, buildings, fences and the borough park.

Visitors will have the opportunity to meet talented quilters, learn about different quilting techniques, and even try their hand at weaving and quilting.

For more information, including the event schedule, visit theairingofthequilts.com.