My sister, Ginny, was the first of 7 siblings to pass away and her legacy will never be forgotten. She and her husband were very active in bluegrass activities and mountain man rendezvous. She made all of the clothing for herself and her husband. She started quilting about 10 years ago and when I retired I started to take classes to share the activity with her. Ginny made bereavement bears for people who had lost a family member. The bears were made from clothing the deceased family member had. She made bears from our parents clothing for each of her brothers(2) and sisters (4). She was also making quilts for each of us when she passed away. The story that follows is a testament to her life and the love she so freely gave to all around her.
The story starts in August of 2007. I had recently lost Ginny to breast cancer and inherited her 50 year stash. What an overwhelming gift that was! A day later I read a blog from BrinkofNorway, stating that fabric cost an equivalent of $50 US in Norway. She had to pay $50 a yard and I had a full walk in closet of material in front of me. What would Ginny do? She would pack up a box of material and send it off, which is just what I did.
Of course, you always have to listen to your older sister. Hanne-Grete received the material just as she was starting a new position and the material had an opportunity to adjust to Norway. It had only ever been in Pennsylvania so a time adjustment was a good thing. At last Hanne-Grete looked at the material, it started to talk to her and she made a quilt. She didn't make just any quilt either. When Hanne-Grete sent me a picture of the quilt I started to cry. My sister's favorite quilt block was a log cabin, you can easily guess what pattern Hanne-Grete chose. Now, living in Norway is a quilt that I will always think of as Ginny's quilt. Why did I send the material? Why did Hanne-Grete sew a log cabin quilt? Because quilters are just the most wonderful people in the world and we always figure out just the right thing to do.
Ginny's material has also been donated to the Reach to Recovery program of the American Cancer Society, as well as for quilts for Ronald McDonald House of Philadelphia. Fabric donations have been made to Project Linus and the Christmas material has been used by Operation Shoebox in Florida to provide Christmas stockings for our men and women in service to the US. Ginny's legacy continues on................
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