Published: October 05, 2008 09:46 am      

Quilts, memories sewn together

DUNCAN — Few things in this world have the ability to tell the past like a quilt.

Each stitch, each cut, each piece of fabric holds within it a memory of the hands that put it together.

Perhaps it was a wedding present or maybe it was one more way to ward of winter chills. But no matter the reason for its existence, one constant remains —it was labored over with love.

Jean Bezner understands that fact — a quilter herself, she’s restored a quilt that’s been passed down in her family for two generations, and is getting ready to present a quilt given to her family back to the church that gave it nearly 60 years ago.

“This was a friendship quilt given to my grandmother when they were leaving the church,” Bezner explained, showing the hand-stitched blanket that was lined with feed sacks, the printing faded but evidence of a time long passed.

The Bounds family ancestors will be donating the quilt to Hulen Methodist Church for its 100th anniversary.

Another quilt nearby is a project she worked on for six months — a wedding ring quilt stitched by her grandmother in the 1950s and used by her parents. The fabric had rotted away in some areas, necessitating the repairs.

“It was used by my grandmother and my parents,” she said. “It wasn’t something that was put away.”

As she gently handles the handiwork, she points out the memories it contains.

“There’s a piece in there from my Valentines dress I wore my freshman year,” she said, finding the gray swatch of fabric with the white hearts.

Bezner is not alone in her memories. June McGuire is a fellow quilter who knows the labor put into making a quilt is something that should not be taken lightly.

“You can do a lot of thinking or work out a lot of problems, all while you’re sewing,” McGuire explained. “I do quilts and I bake. That’s the two things I can do, the others I attempt.”

The craft is a way to share memories, to pass down love that literally can embrace and keep a person warm, even after a loved one is gone.

“It’s a lot of fun to look back and say, ‘I made a dress for my daughter out of this piece or I made a blouse out of this piece,’” McGuire said.

“You put a lot of yourself into it. It’s like a kid. It’s hard to let it go.”