She who dies with the most wins! But what about after?
Hi
I would like to bring up a topic that I am sure we would all like to avoid. One of my coworkers and friends and an avid quilter recently died quite suddenly. She had acquired a huge stash of fabric over the years and now that stash, with her WIPs, UFOs and unquilted tops was headed for the dumpster. Her family had a very few days after her funeral to empty her home and disperse her belongings. Fortunately, several of her friends spoke to the family and the many many totes of fabric were saved for the present. Many of her projects became separated from the patterns, many of her intended receipients will never know that she was making them a quilt. Aside from a few of us who recognized what things went with what other things most of the stash would have been considered just scraps of fabric.
It would have been wonderful to have found in each project, a list of what went with what, who it was intended for, what patterns were used. It would have been nice if there was a note saying she would have liked her stash to go to making hospice quilts, or donated to a local guild or who should benefit from her years of stash building!
So I would like to propose to you all, that you take the time to make a list or include some sort of note with your projects that might just help the survivors when your time comes. Believe me, there has been plenty of angst on the part of her friends going through her stash. One person took many completed applique blocks and is making quilts for her sons and other members of her family, some of the fabric is going to a church group to make hospice quilts, some went to coworkers who quilt but there was a huge amount of fabric.
My friend died too early, only 56, from ovarian cancer. She thought she had more time as we all do, she did put off doing some of the final arrangements as we all would in her shoes. I miss her. I would much rather be laughing with her than sorting through her stash trying to figure out what to do. So for the people you will leave behind, make some arrangements about your stash and your projects AND please label your quilts.