A Family’s Patchwork Holter Women Stitch Memories At Quilting Bee

The scraps of cloth became symbols of their lives.

Slowly, piece by piece, the women sewed them together Saturday as they shared stories, recollections and secrets.

“We are stitching memories for generations to come,” said Barbara Greer of Spokane.

The gathering at a Spokane home was the annual “quilting weekend” for the women in the Holter family.

Fifteen women and girls - ages 5 to 60 - traveled from all over Washington and Oregon to make the quilt. Some pieces of cloth came from family members in South Carolina and Philadelphia who weren’t able to make the trip.

Surrounded by needles and fabric, they sat on the floor, the couch and around the dining table. With careful fingers, they sewed together blocks of cloth that represented the 25 women and girls in their family.

The quilt became a “focus of gathering,” said Janet Parks, 54, of Seattle.

The women meet not just to create the quilt, she said, but also to learn more about each other and establish connection.

Throughout the day, they cooked and ate. They laughed and took photos. During past gatherings, some have worn hairnets or danced around the room. Pregnant women compared the size of their stomachs.

“We were so busy with our own lives that we didn’t get to know each other,” said Kathy Greer, 35, of Spokane. “This is a time for us women to be together.”

One male family member recently wanted to join the quilting bee, but the women said no.

“No testosterone,” Parks said. “We wanted the women of the family to spend time with each other. … It’s a time for mothers and daughters to come and work together.”

As they cut and stitched, they discussed women’s issues - birth control, menopause, the “boob bag,” referring to one woman’s prosthetic bra. They also talked about their children, their husbands, their careers.

“What I appreciate the most is watching how the relationships develop beyond the quilt,” said Margaret Greer, 30, of Spokane.

The three oldest women in the group - Barbara Greer, Janet Parks and Judith Holter - are sisters who grew up in Spokane. When their mother, Esther Holter, died in 1976, they stopped seeing each other as often. Their own children didn’t get a chance to get to know their cousins.

“We became busy with babies and careers,” said Judith Holter, 52. “It’s only been in recent years that we’ve become as close.”

For the past three years, two people from the group are chosen to pick a pattern, find the fabric and send letters to the rest of the women in the family. After making the quilt, they hold a raffle to decide who takes it home.

While the quilt blocks are similar in pattern, each piece is personalized with a name or a design, such as a cat or a baby’s handprint. The three sisters also made a block in memory of their mother.

“It’s not just for future generations,” Holter said. “We’re also remembering the women before us.”

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