Her quilts became gifts for her grandchildren and other loved ones; gifts that are now priceless mementos of Margaret’s readiness to wrap those around her in love.
Her granddaughter, Christina Tollman, explained to TODAY: “She wanted us to have something to wrap up and keep warm in when we went away to school.”
Priceless gifts
However, it was only when it came time for Margaret’s send-off that the extent of her handiwork became truly apparent.
A member of her family had the idea of using Margaret’s quilts at her funeral, but when it came time to put them in the church something suddenly became apparent.
“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.
“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.”
What’s more, Christina and the others discovered that though Margaret is gone, her work will last for a long time yet. It transpired that there were even more quilts, those designed to be wedding gifts for her family in the future.
Tollman said: “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.
“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. When we miss her.”
Sometimes you just never know how much you’re going to miss the little things someone does until they’re gone. Appreciate your loved ones while they’re here and you have the chance, never take them for granted, and be sure to treasure them at every step.
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