Here is the letter that was included with each quilt:
The Story Behind This Memory Quilt
“Families are like quilts, stitched together one piece at a time,
and the quilt tells a story, one piece at a time.” ~ Unknown
You are the recipient of a memory quilt made from clothing worn by Mary Ellen Pinkowski. Five memory quilts were made – one for each of her children and one for each of her siblings. The printed/patterned triangles are made from her clothing and represent her. The blue is chambray because she always wore a chambray shirt as a jacket. You know - with California weather and all! The heart exploding represents the hearts of all of the people who loved her and the negative space heart represents where we hope we can all get to - loving her in a different way. The waves represent the ups and downs of our emotions as we work through the grief and shift from physical love to a spiritual love and memory of her.
I started the quilts in June. Once I began to take apart the shirts to iron on the interfacing, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do this project. I had made seven memory quilts for Josephine, but this was different. By August, I had asked an amazing textile artist, Laura Sapko is she could execute my design. She is the only person I would have trusted with this task and she executed it with the most impeccable workmanship. You will not find someone who can free motion long arm as beautifully as Laura.
Prior to sending Laura the fabric, I dropped off some squares to be embroidered with “In loving memory of Mary Ellen Pinkowski”. The Chinese lady that took my order wondered why I wanted these fabric scraps embroidered. I told her what I was making not knowing if she truly understood me (her English was very broken).
A week later I went to pick up the squares. I gave my name to the man at the counter. His eyes lit up and he came around the counter and gave me the most gentle and sincere hug and whispered in my ear, “I’m so sorry for your loss.” I was touched beyond imagination. I expected a business transaction and I experienced the most beautiful human exchange.
When I looked at the embroidery I realized that there was an error. The order sheet was sitting on the counter and it was correct, “In loving memory OF...” but the embroidery was incorrect and was missing “of”. What to do…
I paid for the squares and left the store knowing that his compassion for a complete stranger needed to be part of the story of my mother’s memory quilts. After all, mom wouldn’t have made him re-embroider those squares so I wasn’t going to either. Not a single stitch had been stitched but her story, and how she lived her life, was already being told. So when you see “In loving memory Mary Ellen Pinkowski” this is why.
You are now the caretaker of this quilt and this story. May my mother always be part of your memories, lives and homes (or cottages).
Merry Christmas to you all.
“Families are like quilts, stitched together one piece at a time,
and the quilt tells a story, one piece at a time.” ~ Unknown
You are the recipient of a memory quilt made from clothing worn by Mary Ellen Pinkowski. Five memory quilts were made – one for each of her children and one for each of her siblings. The printed/patterned triangles are made from her clothing and represent her. The blue is chambray because she always wore a chambray shirt as a jacket. You know - with California weather and all! The heart exploding represents the hearts of all of the people who loved her and the negative space heart represents where we hope we can all get to - loving her in a different way. The waves represent the ups and downs of our emotions as we work through the grief and shift from physical love to a spiritual love and memory of her.
I started the quilts in June. Once I began to take apart the shirts to iron on the interfacing, I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to do this project. I had made seven memory quilts for Josephine, but this was different. By August, I had asked an amazing textile artist, Laura Sapko is she could execute my design. She is the only person I would have trusted with this task and she executed it with the most impeccable workmanship. You will not find someone who can free motion long arm as beautifully as Laura.
Prior to sending Laura the fabric, I dropped off some squares to be embroidered with “In loving memory of Mary Ellen Pinkowski”. The Chinese lady that took my order wondered why I wanted these fabric scraps embroidered. I told her what I was making not knowing if she truly understood me (her English was very broken).
A week later I went to pick up the squares. I gave my name to the man at the counter. His eyes lit up and he came around the counter and gave me the most gentle and sincere hug and whispered in my ear, “I’m so sorry for your loss.” I was touched beyond imagination. I expected a business transaction and I experienced the most beautiful human exchange.
When I looked at the embroidery I realized that there was an error. The order sheet was sitting on the counter and it was correct, “In loving memory OF...” but the embroidery was incorrect and was missing “of”. What to do…
I paid for the squares and left the store knowing that his compassion for a complete stranger needed to be part of the story of my mother’s memory quilts. After all, mom wouldn’t have made him re-embroider those squares so I wasn’t going to either. Not a single stitch had been stitched but her story, and how she lived her life, was already being told. So when you see “In loving memory Mary Ellen Pinkowski” this is why.
You are now the caretaker of this quilt and this story. May my mother always be part of your memories, lives and homes (or cottages).
Merry Christmas to you all.
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