I’ve been spending a lot of time “nesting.” For me, that’s attending to small projects around the house. Nothing major, just putting away the clutter and cleaning drawers and closets. Organizing. Taking inventory. Weeding stuff out, and re-purposing. I’m not a big thrower-outer. I have pack rat tendencies.
Major stuff would be cleaning out the garage. All of Mom’s things from her room at the Alzheimer’s facility are making it pretty hard for Steve to park in there. He is motivated to clean the garage. Me? Not so much.
I re-purposed towels. The towels were in the garage, so I am helping. Just not very fast. The towels had BEEBE monogrammed in wide-tip black marker on the part near the edge. That was so that all her towels wound up in her room and not someone else’s. Marking them I thought of summer camp where you do the same thing.
I liked the towels. They match our bathroom, coincidentally. And I liked that fact that they were Mom’s. I just didn’t like staring at her name.
So, I found fabric that looked like they were from the quilted shower curtain on the opposite wall, and I cut strips from it about an inch wider and an inch longer than the woven part of the towel.
I placed the strips on the towel and folded under the edges to cover. Then I pressed Steam-A-Seam onto the wrong side of the strip. After peeling off the remaining paper, I just plopped the fabric strip over the BEEBE, fused, and top stitched the fabric strip in place at the crease of the fabric.
I did all Mom’s hand towels and all her bath towels.
So now, every morning, I get a towel hug from Mom. It’s a nice way to start the day.
Through The Eyes Of A Quilter 
Oh how I envey you the towel hugs. I have an old comforter that belongs to my parents. It will be going on our master bed when I get home from work. I too will have a hug from my parents every night. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for passing this forward to us.
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What a lovely idea and a great way to hug your precious Mom each time you use them.
I lost my Mom 6 years ago, and every day I think of her and have wonderful memories of her and her love for me. Our Moms are always with us. You are truly an inspiration to all of us. God Bless You.
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My relatives still use all the pillowcases I had made my mom – with her name on the borders of course. At the nursing home, my mom always had her arm propped up on a pillow, so I made different pretty pillowcases for every month to add a little cheer. They’re a hit then & a great remembrance now.
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Ami – if you can’t bear to sort through your mom’s “stuff” at this time consider renting a low-cost storage facility. Of course, once it is there you can put off sorting it almost indefinitely. We rented one after my mom died (1/17/2004) and I still have gone through it totally. For New Year’s I promised my husband that when we get back from Florida in April I will get my adults sons together and we will go through it once and for all. Probably I can sort without crying now and we will find a different home for all the odds and ends of furniture, canisters, dishes, etc. (I did sort and pass on all her clothing, towels, etc.). I am keeping you in my prayers!
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I can’t tell you how much I have related to your thoughts these last few years and weeks. It was so good when Madison felt good enought to let us know how he was doing again! And then to hear that you had a fun time at Houston, plus all that was given to the fund for this disease that robs us all of so much.
These cold days is the perfect time to sort, give away and clean out. I find that the things that hug me daily are those given and made by family that are now gone, but their presense speaks to me in the wood, yarn, & fabric items that are a part of my daily life. My father created beautiful wooden items that are all over our house, and just to dust them brings sweet memories of his life. Blessings on your days of recovery…………many care about you.
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Sure wish I had your energy and determination, Ami! Guess I’m in a rut. Now, if I could just open some windows and let in WARM air….. It is -6 degrees here! Think maybe I have cabin fever!
You’ve done a wonderful thing with your Mom’s towels and I love it! Not only have you made “towel hugs”, you’re helping clean the garage! I really like your quilted shower curtain and the fabric you used for the towels ia a perfect match!
Karen
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Ami – Thanks for sharing with us about your Mom’s towels and your daily towel hugs. I have had my Grandmother’s nightgown since she died at the age of 86, twenty-four years ago. (It’s white cotton, handmade by her, with little stitched tucks, and hand-worked buttonholes). And every year, on her birthday, I think of her, her quilts, and her wonderful boiled custard – and (best of all) I sleep in her nightgown. And then I sleep in it for a few more nights before laundering it, ironing it, and putting it away for another year. That way, I hope it will last me until I’m 86. I also have a Christmas jumper that had belonged to a dear neighbor who passed away a few years ago. It gives me so much pleasure to wear it every year at Christmas and to recall my friend’s love and grace. I am so glad you are finding ways to enjoy your Mom’s things. As you find ways to enjoy these possessions, may they bring to your mind many good memories. Grace, joy, and love to you.
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Nesting, no matter the reason, is good for the soul. I’m so glad you are giving yourself this time. . . it’s been 3-1/2 years for me and I haven’t gone through most of the boxes we brought home from MI when we closed down Mom’s house (6 months before her death; my sister ended up with the things that were at the nursing home). DH understands and sympathizes with my procrastination (the boxes are in the bonus room, not the garage, which makes it easier to avoid them). The journey happens in fits and jerks ~ so be patient with you!! All in good time… Stay inside and STAY WARM!
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Ami, I like Sandy’s idea of renting a small (maybe large?) storage unit for now. My mom passed away 28 years ago… almost 29 now. As an only child I ended up with everything my father didn’t want – which was a lot! It took me forever to be able to even think about getting rid of anything. My poor husband just lived patiently with having the equivalent of two households of “things”. Including a garage that was basically a storage unit for most of it for years and years. We moved 16 years ago and I was able to do a little bit at that time. There’s all those memories I just have to hold on to.. and the things help bring those back since I don’t have siblings to share them with.
Blessings to you and your family during this time.
I
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Ami, what a nice way to think of the towels. I also have my mom’s towels and use them every day. Hers were in much better shape than mine, so I switched. Mine are for car washing. I hadn’t thought of it as a hug from her, but now I will. I love that! Don’t worry about the garage – it can wait! Some day in the next few months it will feel like the right time to do it. Hugs to you! Carol
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Perfect, Ami. That’s a wonderful way to use your mom’s towels. And I like the other suggestions/comments about using the things of our dearly departed.
But please tell Steve to just be patient. Of course he wants a garage in this horrid cold weather, and maybe today (assuming his school is closed) he can move some stuff to the basement. But I can’t believe you’re hoping to go through things quickly. Four, no five years ago, it took my 3 brothers and I about 6 months to go through my mom’s house before putting it on the market, (we’d have such talks while doing it) and then of course all of us took things home. I have drawers and boxes of my mom’s things and only go through them a tiny bit at a time.
So again, stay warm and be good to yourself (how about some Mexican hot chocolate?).
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Wow, tears hitting the keyboard . . . thank you for sharing these special and very private moments with us. You are helping us understand the process of grief and making peace with the loss by remembering you Mom in special ways. I love the idea of a towel hug each morning. You are healing one moment at a time.
Grace and strength to you for this day and those to come. Allison
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Great idea Ami!
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Ok ‘fess up– is the teddy bear yours Ami, or Madisons. Anyway he is cute. What a wonderful idea you had with the towels but what’s this —no quilting on them?
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Grand idea! For really special occasions I use one of my beloved mother-in-law’s beautiful old damask tablecloths. VERY special, because I launder and iron them myself. Can’t trust anyone else with such lovely and fragile fabric. But my most favorite things are her rolling pin and the star-shaped mold she used for her homemade cranberry sauce. Every time I use those, it still brings a bit of longing, even after 16 years. My favorite thing of my granma’s was her button jar. In it, I found buttons from the dress she wore to my wedding. I made a “jar” quilt using button fabric for the jars, and sewed on the buttons and other bits and pieces from her button jar!
Sweet remembrance.
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Ah1 Yes! Sweet memories. I had the experience of receiving many of my Grandmothers things after my Aunt sold her house and they moved to Florida. They certainly brings back the memories of living with my Grandparents when I was a young child and they live all over my house and will go to my children when we move from this house. Also our grown children were all in AA after my mother’s service and we had to clean out her apartment pdq. They now share in her history with many of her things safely in their homes. What a joy it now is to see these things and remember those who are visiting in Heaven. thanks again for all your hard work. Nancy
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What a wonderful thing to do on the towels. And what a blessing to have a daily hug from your mom. Bless you!
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What a lovely way to connect with your mother every morning! I drink coffee from my mother’s favorite mugs, two Lenox china ones with winter birds on them. She was a big bird watcher. It makes me feel closer to her.
Deb Sims
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KOOL
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Dear Ami,
What a great idea for the towels and knowing you are giving and receiving hugs every day in mom’s memory is lovely. My dear mom passed away some time ago, and I still wear some of her blouses and feel the hugs also. I think your mom and mine would be pleased that we still have them near us in this way. Lots of hugs to you as you continue your healing journey.
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Ami – I think whatever you can do to help you through the grief process you should do. I still sleep with the pillow my first husband used the day he died. That’s 16 years ago and my present husband doesn’t mind. It took me a year to even think of going through his clothes. Take it a day at a time and be good to yourself.
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Hi Ami…. your towel project is clever. My ‘hug’ from my brother who died in April is to wear his tan shirt now and then. I’ve had some thoughts about frilling it up with lace and embroidery, but it’s just a thought. It’s 9 months since he passed. I fully endorse nesting.
Sending you my hugs, too
Jean
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Thank you Ami for all that you are doing to include us in your process. There are many who have had to go through this and now I too am another one to add to the list. I love the towel idea but am sure I could use her pj’s since there was no special towel. A bedtime hug works too.
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I just read about your Mom’s towels. What a great way to get a fluffy hug.
I did an accidental good thing this Christmas. My Mom’s best friend, Connie, has been in an Alzheimer’s facility for the last 6 years and no longer recognizes her husband or children. The younger daughter, Janet, is the year between my sister and me. She would spend the night when we were young, and one morning my Mom exclaimed that she had 2 girls and a spare. Our families have remained very close. I was trying to come up with a Christmas present for each of them and knew they didn’t need more Things. I have been trying to help my Spare sister clean out her Mother’s quilting and craft room and in the process found a purple cotton jumper that was worn but had life left in it. I thought I might be able to wear it, but she was far shorter and thinner than I. I used the skirt for strips and made coiled cloth eyeglass baskets for Janet’s Father and older sister, and a small round basket for her daughter. I made a knitting bag out of the top of the jumper and gave Janet some new knitting needles and yarn.
I did not realize that this jumper had been one of Connie’s favorites and that purple was her favorite color.
Janet got teary and I did good. It made me so happy that my homemade gifts were such a hit.
Thank you so much for providing the forum for us to express ourselves about this subject. You have done some incredibly accidental good in your reaching out to others. Thank you and bless you, Jenny Jones
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Ami,
I love your towel idea and it was great to hear from Madison again. Please know that you all are in our thoughts and prayers. My MIL died 3 1/2 years ago and we are still in the process of cleaning out the garage which is where we put most of her stuff. I just this past summer have been able to start going through the bags of clothes to wash and give to charity. It is hard and will take time. If you really need the garage back, I think the storage unit, or if you have a room in your house that you’re not using would be a great idea. Everyone grieves and goes on with life in their own time. It’s hard, but you will get to it eventually, when the time is right.
God bless. Rosemarie
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What a fantastic thing to do with the towels. Enjoy them. And I truly believe she is hugging you, too.
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What a wonderful thing to do. I have the first quilt that I made, my mom. I was eleven and had just had back surgey for scoliosis and was in bed for almost an year. We used the scraps from the clothes she made for us when we were younger. she gave me a 5 inch square of cardboard and scissors, I cut the squares when I was still stuck in bed and when I was able to start getting up for short periods of times I learned to sew the the squares together and once it was finishes I tied the quilt. Six years later we found out my mom had cancer and she used the quilt while she was going through the treatments, sadly she lost her battle on my 21st birthday. But I still have the quilt we made together and that both us used while we were recoveing from our surgerys. I think the quilt needs to come out of storage so I can have some mom hugs too.
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