Family Quilt
Originally uploaded by erikakrausroth.
On Sunday my mom gave me what is probably the most thoughtful gift I have ever received. She had a quilt made out of pieces of clothing that once belonged to my mom, dad, grandparents, and great-grandparents from both sides of my family. It is beautiful. Each scrap of fabric holds so many memories. Yesterday I ran my fingers over it, silently remembering the stories it holds. There are pieces from the robe my mom wore in the hospital after my birth, the dress my grandmother wore at my wedding, fabric once used by each of my great-grandmothers - all there, in one place - together.
Much of the quilt is all my mom has left of her past. Her father passed away when she was only 5 years old, and her mom died suddenly on August 10, 2001 - two months after my wedding. The day my grandmother died I walked into her house, ran up to her bedroom and buried my head in her pillow - breathing in her perfume, the scent that was so synonymous with who she was, the scent that was still so alive when she wasn’t. My mom and her sisters sat on grandma’s bedroom floor, holding her clothing, feeling her, breathing her in even when she was gone. Those pieces on the quilt, the ones that belonged to my grandma, are reminders of who she was - tactile memories of a woman so full of life. The quilt is my mother’s history. It is where I come from. It is my story - one that I will tell my children while we snuggle beneath it’s weight, wrapped in the warmth of the past.
2 Comments
Quilts are the best…aren’t they? David’s grandmother has made me 2 along with one for each of the dogs. They mean so much to me. And just over a year ago I came up with a good idea. I had all of this t-shirts and couldn’t bear to get rid of them. At the same time they were from a different time in my life, didn’t fit, or even had wholes. I made them into a “quilt” and that’s one of my favorite blankets too. Your new quilt is beautiful and I definitely understand the importance of it too you. Talk to you later!
Ohh, I love the idea of a t-shirt quilt. I’ll have to do that with all the baby clothes, blankets and such from the kids. I have a hard time getting rid of stuff as well, and that it a great way to reduce, reuse and recycle. Jack Johnson would be so proud.