Grandma chat.

Today as I put my fabric in an envelope and sent it off to the good hands of a crafting friend, I couldn't help but think of my Grandma.

I had the best Grandma.

She gave birth to 15 children. 14 survived to become my Aunts and Uncles and they are a remarkable bunch of people. Did you know they have been circulating a family letter that they started in the early 60s? It has been making the rounds and still does to this day.

I was 17 when I asked Grandma to teach me to quilt. Grandma had 43 Grandchildren and had made each of us at least one quilt, some of us had lived long enough and worn out our quilts and were on our second! She was very short and round and wore flower printed house dresses and she reminded me of what Mrs. Claus should look like. SHe was always happy and smiling but when I asked her to teach me to quilt she got very serious. She offered me tea, an attempt to change the topic. I was stern.
"Grandma. I want to know how to quilt."
"No." in her accent. She had spent her young years in Russia, Siberia where she said you can grow anything you want in the rich fertile soils and there was plenty of water, but a short season.
"Teach me." I said.
"It is a curse." she said. "You will have to touch all the fabric you see. In your head, always in your head, the ideas and colours. At night instead of sleeping you will be building quilts. No. Don't do this thing. It is not good."

Well it is good. I made my first quilt at 17 and here we are, an undetermined amount of years later and I still make a quilt and don't feel an overwhelming rush of joy when I do. Instead, it's as if I have set my hand to a task that will result in a loved one feeling comfort and warmth when they are sad, sick or lonely. A quilt that Grandma made was never an inanimate piece of fabric and batting. No, it was a clear and perfect act of love. To this day I cannot make a quilt without first having a home for it. I admire the women who can quilt for the sheer joy and pleasure of the creation, but a quilt, for Grandma and now for me, was the act of creating a conduit for care. And you don't undertake such a thing lightly.

Grandma was loved by every single one of us many Grandchildren. SHe made us special treats to eat, told us we were wonderful, kissed and hugged us. Of the 43 Grandchildren I got to spend the most time with my Grandma working on quilts together. Talking. Having tea. Wondering what Grandpa was building now with bits he'd found in the neighbour's trash bin...such good stuff that neighbour threw away! Grandma was, in every meaning of the word, a truly awesome lady and I think of her often. I loved and was loved by, my dear Grandma.

Tell us about your special lady whose kindness, loving-ness and that quality of greatness touched your life and your heart.

What you wrote reminded me so much of my dear departed mother ,I'm haveing flash backs of her sewing room , bags full of pieces of cloth that someday would make someone a blanket , how when she had found a material that was especially right , this would become a dress for her ( flowers were her favorites as well ), and when it was done it had a special meaning to her .Although she isn't a direct decendent from Russia , her roots are from there as well .We had to give her back last year right after christmas after a long battle that she fought well.When we cleaned out her home years ago after a fateful stroke made it so that she could no longer take care of her self we were amazed at all the bags full of cloth that she and my dear departed father had bought over the years ? she went through more sewing machines then anyone has a right to , but they all served her well and provided many a blanket for adults as well as infants .............Thanks for reminding me

When we sit down to a meal here we sit down at my grandmother's old oak table. I matching buffet usually holds a stack of books, mail, bills, a laptop and a cat that has to have a high spot to watch everything that needs a cat's attention. Just like my grandparents there is a book that has often graced that buffet although at present it is a children's bible that is read at most evening meals.

My grandmother was a sewer, but not obsessed with sewing although she did pass that skill to my mother. She was a big tease and quick to chuckle at some prank she was playing. She kept the family together which is an accomphishment I dearly miss these days. I knew all my cousins, aunts and uncles.

I remember the meals she made particularly at Christmas. I have her old Five Roses cookbook from 1938 with many of her own recipes written wherever there was a tiny empty spot. Then there were the recipes from the newspaper-mostly the Lethbridge Herald.

She lived over 90 years going from horses and buggies in early Saskatchewan to television. She had 9 children, but one died at a young age. Her grave beside my grandfather overlooks the Old Man River valley north of Cowley. The sawmill where my garndfather and my uncle ran a grocery store has been gone a long time, although part of the store still stands as a house although I haven't passed that way in 20 years so perhaps it too is gone. The little community of Burmis, Alberta may only be found in the history books.

I have my grandma's old cedar chest, which I have refinished myself. My great grand parents came from Oaklahoma to Kelowna and then my grandma after my grandfather died came to Breton Alberta where she homesteaded a plot of land. She had 10 kids and my mum was 3 yrs old at the time and the youngest. My grandma was all of 4'10 and homesteaded the piece of land by herself and her kids, while expriencing extreme discrimation, but she perserved. They had to clear so many acres in a year or lose the land. She did it and I remember going out to the farm for all of my summers and holidays, she and my Mum instilled a strong work ethic in me as well as a love of animals.My grandma passed away when I was about 13yrs and my mom about 10 yrs ago both from Strokes, I still miss them alot but I have lots of great memories and odds and ends that belonged to them. The land that my grandma homesteaded has been in my family for over 100 yrs and is in a family trust and has been lovingly turned into a place for all of of us to enjoy by my brothers and cousins. A place for family bonding and fun. My moms ashes were put under a very special tree that we planted and can see from the house.

Heather

Ah what a wonderful subject Uno.
My Grandma was not a farmer or a sewer as a matter of fact she didn't even cook. The only thing she could cook was mojakka, Fin for stew, but it was the best stew in the world. The Grandma i knew worked for Ministry of Natural Resources for 40 years in Northern Ontario. She was a very kind church going woman. She was always kind to, and would always find good, in everyone. Her favorite flower was the daffodil but she loved them all and her favorite saying was "the lord will provide".
She lost her 3rd battle with cancer and was taken at the age of 72, I miss and think of her each and every day. If i can be half the woman she was I will be happy. Love you Gran

these are amazing stories to read guys, thanks for sharing them with all of us!

I did not get to know either of my Grandmas because one was very ill and died before I really knew her and the other lived in Scotland(where my mum is from). I only visited her and my Grandpa once as a child bit then they surprisingly came all the way to Canada for my wedding and then again a year later, to see our firstborn, that was very cool.
So I don't have any "growing up" memories with grandparents and that may be why I am so grateful our kids all had special connections with my husband's parents. While they were still alive, they lived right here in the same yard with us and although there were some moments when I struggled with "sharing" the parenting with them, there was nothing to compare to the time they spent with my kids. Toddlers and grandparents...they are always on the same timeline, always have "a few more minutes" to play and visit...

Viczoe, property in a family trust for the enjoyment of all. What a profound idea. I have never heard of that. YOu always hear of that fine land being sold and the profits split. I am enthralled and in awe of this idea. It's just so not the norm and yet such an incredible idea!

Viczoe,
Do you realize we live just west of the old cemetary North of Breton?