Whenever she heads upstairs at home, Diana remembers her beloved grandmother Gertrude. Hanging in the stairwell near the second floor landing is a memory quilt stitched from fabrics that belonged to her grandma, as well as photos from different stages of her life. Diana made the piece shortly after Gertrude died at age 101, using samples of her skirts, dresses, pants, buttons, lace, handkerchiefs, tablecloths, and even dish towels. The blue-green wall hanging reminds Diana of her childhood in Syracuse, N.Y., and sleepover dates with Gertrude, her father's mother. She recalls how supportive Gertrude was as she overcame some obstacles as a child and then went on to become a parent, teacher, and quilter. As her grandmother lost her sight, Diana made her a colorful, textured quilt that she loved. "My grandma was very giving, loving, patient, and accepting of anything we did. I saw so much good in her," Diana told me as she showed me around her Newton, Mass., home the other day. "She was so proud that I did all of this quilting. Whenever I finish a new one now, I feel like showing it to her." When Diana was helping clear out Gertrude's apartment after her death in 2004, she began thinking about ways to use some of her possessions in a meaningful way. It didn't take long to envision a series of quilted pieces, and over the next six months she stitched together nine of them for Gertrude's children and grandchildren, including several wall hangings, a pillow, and a picture framed in fabric. Each piece was unique, but each incorporated photos of Gertrude pressed onto cloth and strips from a long paisley velvet skirt. "She did so much for me," Diana says. "I wanted to do this for her and the people who loved her." Although she has been sewing all her life, Diana took up quilting only about eight years ago. In addition to teaching preschool and giving quilting lessons, Diana runs a fiber arts business with her friend Karen. As DK Threads, they make exquisite wall hangings, bowls, scarves, and other quilted objects. This summer, a widow commissioned them to make a quilt out of neckties owned by her well-dressed husband. As for the memory quilt honoring Gertrude, Diana says she got teary as she put it together in her sewing alcove at home, but she also felt good inside. "Making it definitely helped me through the healing process," she told me, "and it still does whenever I look at the quilt." To see grandma Gertrude's quilt, visit DK Threads' at www.dkthreads.com and look under "products" and "photo quilts."
