I’m going to change the subject for just one post here. Two quilters, one my sister-in-law and one a member of my bee, died this summer. Dealing with what they left behind has been a challenge.
I didn’t know Shirley very well, although I did know she was a quilter, loved to go to Houston, had just bought a longarm machine. She and my brother lived on the Eastern Shore, we live in Colorado, but we had a short visit in Texas with other family members in March. I’ll spare you the details, but she died very suddenly after surgery in June. My brother was stunned, and I was unable to get to her services. I offered later to help him deal with her quilting supplies, and he jumped at the offer.
I had been a member of Sue’s bee for quite a few years, and we had all seen her through one round of cancer treatment for colon cancer (get your colonoscopy, please!) three years ago. She had come through it with determination, and we were hopeful of the same results when she had to go through it again this spring. But things did not go well, and she died after 10 days in hospice. Early on, she had asked us to dispose of her quilting things, especially because she was single, and no one in her family would know what to do.
I was very fortunate, in that Shirley was a very organized person. Her fabrics were sorted by color, her projects had patterns and parts and pieces stored together, her magazines had been sorted by title. Even so, it was a challenging undertaking. I’d estimate that I sorted, packed, and stacked about a ton of stuff in three days. Members of her church quilting group agreed to take the supplies; some will go to charity groups, and some will be auctioned for the benefit of the church. Some of her finished quilts will be staying at home, others were given to family and friends.
Sue’s things were not as organized. She made many charity quilts every year, and so our bee’s focus will be using her fabrics and supplies for charity quilts. Our guild has a committee that organizes charity quilts every year, and they will get some of the supplies; we also have Project Linus and ABC Quilts active in our area, along with other more local groups. The next time we get together, we will go through all Sue’s things and decide where they go. It took her closest friend in our bee more than a week to find everything in Sue’s house and move it to her studio.
I guess what I want to communicate to everyone is to think ahead, and talk to your family and friends about what you would like to have happen to your things. Don’t put it off, because none of us knows how our hours are numbered. Those you leave behind will be grateful.