so i've been mia for a little while.
it's because i had a unexpected busy time here.
{thank you for the emails of support}
on saturday {the 12th} i got to watch two friends get married.
two people that couldn't be more perfect for each other.
then a flight back to philly...
to attend my mommom's funeral.
we all knew it was coming.
it has been for months.
but it really doesn't make it any easier.
12.2.20 - 12.9.09
Emily Fischer Kardux
my brother took this picture earlier this year.
the last time he got to see our mommom.
she loved orchids and asked him to take pictures of hers...
on 10/29/2006 i finished a quilt for my mommom
it was flannel...
purple..red..and white.
and i hoped she'd like it.
{if she didn't...she wasn't the type who would hold back}
luckily she did.
but little did i know that day.
that she actually loved that quilt.
loved it more than i think any quilt i've ever made has been loved.
it was on her bed each and every single day.
and when it needed to be washed... a fleece throw i made took its place for the day.
she made sure that all of her nurses... and anyone who walked into her room knew that i had made it. she was so proud of me... and always told me.
now the quilt is mine again.
and while i thought it would be strange.
and hard to look at... instead it brings me comfort.
and i'll treasure it knowing what comfort it brought to her.
all along the last few months i knew my silver lining was that my brother, his wife.. and this little one would fly in when it all happened... this little one is only a bit over 2 and was a ball of energy all week.
but there was another silver lining
one i never could have dreamed of.
i have learned some amazing family history in my absence from my blog this past week... i have often mentioned that my mom doesn't quilt... she is an amazing seamstress & embroiderer but unfortunately not a quilter... my mommom.. who was my mom's mother was also an amazing seamstress... but that was all i knew... as our family gathered to remember her... a quilt was taken out and shown to me... a quilt i had never seen before.. and didn't know existed.
{me examining it with my dad looking over}
it was only a few minutes before i found this.
AEK 1933
it is hand quilted... and i think pieced by machine
it is worn a bit in some places
but overall is in good shape...
the detail in the piecing is amazing
all the seams are perfect
for the first time... here was my quilt i had made for my mommom
with one from her family... my family...
all kinds of emotions were flowing.
it wasn't long before i remembered that there was a double wedding ring quilt that had been passed down to me... i took it out and started searching the back... and found AEK 1939.
now i had the challenge of figuring out who was AEK... who made these quilts?..
they are both hand crafted beautiful pieces of art.... true heirlooms...
the "K" was easy.. Kardux... my mommom's maiden name.
but past that... i had no idea.
her mom was Joanna Boda.. and since Kardux was her married name it wasn't her mom... it had to be someone else...
my mom pulled out a bound book of my mommom's family history which goes back to my great...great...great grandparents. the table of contents was no help.... no AEK... so we went page by page... till we found it.
I discovered that my Great Great Grandmother's name was Alice Edith Souter... she was listed as Edie Souter in the table of contents... it had to be her. she was born in 1863 and died in 1952... that means she was 70 when the one quilt was finished and 76 when the other one was.
here is a scan from the family history book.
Alice Edith Souter married Joseph D. Kardux and became Alice Edith Kardux.. AEK
Edie's son George married Joanna Boda...
they had 4 children... including a set of twins.. Emily & George...
Emily {my mommom} married William Fischer...
they had 4 girls... one of which is my mom.
all this time...
i had thought i was the first quilter in my family.
I am very grateful to have in my possession these pieces of my own family history, at the same time I am sad that I did not discover that my mommom's grandmother was a quilter... I would love to have had the opportunity to have my mommom share her stories of her grandmother with me.
the family history book had a lot of information... this excerpt stuck out to me...
a perfectionist... i'm far from perfect...
but there have been times that i redo a seam until it is perfect
so i guess when that happens.. i'm having an Edie moment.
I will treasure these quilts and the history i have just learned of them... and make sure that their history is passed down to future generations and kept alive.
{photo credit for all but one photo goes to my brother, brad herman... thank you for continuing to inspire and push me... and for being just as creative as i am... i couldn't ask for a better brother.}
edit {the pattern is a 
