Family Honors Grandma’s Memory By Displaying All Of Her Quilts at Her Funeral


We all have something that we are known for and at times, we may spend a lifetime making it the best it can be. For the late Margaret Hubl, the passion was for quilting and she did quite a few before she passed away.

Margret had 3 children of her own when her sister-in-law passed away in an accident. Her twins needed a place to go, so Margaret and Henry, her husband took them in. Their family grew overnight to 5 children.

Sewing was more than a passion for Margaret, it was something she did out of necessity to keep up with the kids. She then discovered quilt making, which she would continue to do until she passed away. Those quilts were given as gifts to family and friends.

Her granddaughter, Christina Tollman, said, “She wanted us to have something to wrap up and keep warm in when we went away to school.”

What her family may have missed is just how much she put into her quilt-making. When it was suggested that they use her quilts as a display during her funeral, almost all of the pews were decorated with those handmade quilts of love.

“Never did I imagine how many there were. We covered almost every single pew in that church. I never knew how many she actually made,” Christina said.

After she had passed, they found a notebook she used to keep track of each and every quilt she made.

“When we sat down to go through her things we found this – I call it a pocket notebook. Inside it says whose quilt she was working on, what day she put it in the quilt frame and which day she took it out,” explained Tollman.

Even though Margaret had passed, her quilts kept on making people smile. They began to discover quilts she made for wedding gifts but had never had the opportunity to give them.

“I actually have three cousins that are not married, and the day of her funeral was the day that they got to see their quilts for the first time. That was really kind of a neat moment.”

It used to be common to hear about community quilting bees but they are not often seen today. Quilts were a way to use scraps of cloth and the end results were beautiful. They also held specific meanings and were often used to commemorate a special occasion. In doing so, they became even more special.

“This is the love that Grandma made for each of us. This is what she made for each of us to wrap up in when we hurt,” said Tollman. “When we miss her.”

Source: Today


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