I Am Still Missing Her.......A Memory Quilt

~~ Dottie Rose ~~

~~~

Grief is a funny thing. You think you have things under control, you’re going along well,

or so you think. Then something triggers the sad feelings that come, and you suddenly realize you’re not in control. It’s like waves of the sea that you don’t see coming, and boom- you’re engulfed. No way to get out of it now. So there you are.

Once you’re there, hopefully you can find a way to console yourself, because there’s really no one else who can. Everyone will experience grief at some point in their lives, so you’re not alone, but grieving is a very personal experience. You want out of it, you don’t want to go back to that first initial shock wave, and you slowly recover from it, but it does eventually come back.

 I try not to fight it. I try to ride this wave. I try to find things that perhaps might make me feel better, somehow.  Today, it’s just looking at pictures of Her. And pictures of a quilt I made for her, which I’m so glad I did. I want to share this with you.

 The quilt idea is from Wendy Etzel’s book called The Collectibles Quilt. (Don’t know if you can still get a copy of this, but here’s the info on it: RCW Publishing Company, 1995, Wendy Etzel; Rebecca C. Wilber Publishing company, RR #3 Old Post Lane, Columbia Cross Roads, Pennsylvania 16914-9535; ISBN: 0-9627646 9-8.) I fell in love with this quilt book and it looked like a fun project.

I made a list about what things were my mother’s favorites: movie stars, food, vacation spots, clothing, flowers, books, quilt block, hobbies, etc. I sent her the list in the mail and she wrote her answers on the page. ( I kept the list for myself as part of the quilt documentation.) Then I set to work, adding my own things into the quilt, from my memories of her at home.

I love how this turned out. The pictures are horrible, as I had only a 1 or 2 megapixel camera at the time, but I think you can get the idea of how it turned out. It is such a precious keepsake. It is a great way to remember someone in this way.

So this is how I have comforted my self today, remembering Her, and how great a time I had communicating with her about her "Favorite Things". I think the worst we can do to people is not remember them when they are gone. The best we can do is create memorials about them or to them when they are gone. I hope you enjoy this memorial of Her..........And think about making your own quilt for your loved one while they are still here.