Worship Highlights

Altar Quilt for Sunday, March 7, 2010

“This quilt was made by my great-grandmother, Dena Ostendorf, around 1900, in Iowa. She made it before she married my great-grandfather, Bruno Brunsema. She embroidered the initials D.O. and B.B. into the quilt. If you look closely, you can see the patches that were necessary through the years -- this quilt has been well-used by several generations.

"When my great-grandmother died, the quilt went to my great-aunt, Jennie. During Aunt Jennie’s lifetime, she repaired small portions of it. My parents, who lived in Minnesota at the time, received the quilt when she died. It was full of more rips and tears, so my mother sent it to the East Coast to be repaired by someone specializing in quilt repair. After those repairs, the quilt made the long trip to Alaska and now hangs in my living room. I actually love that the quilt isn't "fancy." It reminds me of my Midwestern farmer ancestors -- people who were always frugal, never fancy.

"Four generations ago, my great-grandmother made this quilt to keep her family warm and to honor her marriage. She recycled scraps of fabric out of necessity, not because it was the "green" thing to do, but to make something new out of something old. What a wonderful way to leave a memory for the ones she loved!”

Terri Schimmack