Patchwork Puzzle
February 24th, 2007 by 
dani
My grandmother used to spend her afternoons making quilts, fitting pieces of our lives together like a puzzle. My brother’s outgrown shirt, my torn skirt, my parent’s worn sheets all served as raw materials to her creations. Fuelled by her Yankee work ethic of waste not, want not, she tied us together with matriarchal thread. I used to love to watch the shiny thimble balance on the end of her knotted fingers as they weaved the needle so expertly back and forth, resulting in what could only be qualified as a patchwork masterpiece, love in every stitch.
At 92, my grandmother is now fraying, coming apart at the seams. Pieces are missing from the quilt that is her life, and her simple forgetfulness has given way to total confusion and blank stares. She sits bewildered, befuddled, no longer recognizing us, but there is no solution to this quandary. To comfort her, I raise the quilt a little higher around her shoulders, surrounding her with pieces of us, wrapping her in her puzzlement.
Posted in Prose (English) | 
9 Comments »
February 24th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
This is a beautiful, if bittersweet tribute to your grandmother. My grandmother, who was Southern, also made wonderful quilts from leftover fabrics, feedsacks, etc. I think our grandmothers’ quilts are treasures beyond measure. Lovely post.
February 24th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Such a lovely reflection on your grandmother and her quilts. I cherish the quilts my great grandmother made for me, and the memories that are with them.
Beautifully written
February 25th, 2007 at 3:41 am
A lovely tribute.
I love the images your words created in my mind.
Sending grandma a hug from New York!
February 25th, 2007 at 6:16 pm
I loved this post. Love for your grandma comes across.
God bless her.
gautami
Puzzled
February 25th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
you’re right…you and your brother are in the fabric she stitched together…the same fabric that you now wrap around her. What a warm and loving post. Thank you.
February 25th, 2007 at 9:55 pm
This is so touching. I was carried from visualizing your grandmother quilting away with skill and nimble fingers to her current state.
The quilt is beautiful, and your grandmother is blessed to have a granddaughter who clearly cares for her so much and remembers her from a time in her life the she no doubt loved.
February 25th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
This was a lovely take on the post–and an amazing offering for your grandmother.
–D.–
February 26th, 2007 at 12:08 am
Wow! This is incredibly beautiful, yet poignant and tragic. Why does this happen so often to these precious creators of our history and our life. I loved your last sentence! Yes, comfort her, wrap her in pieces of her children and grandchildren. Maybe, only momentarily, the fog will lift and the puzzle pieces will fit together for her again.
March 7th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
This is lovely, as is the story.