When I found this photo of my grandmother, I assumed she’d baked a fancy cake for a friend or family member. The date, Feb 12 1945, was stamped on the back. I was curious about my father’s mom, who I’d never met. I knew she’d died when my dad was only 18. I knew he’d taken a deferment from the Navy while she was sick. I knew her deathbed wish was that he’d go to college. It was only when I read her obituary that I realized whose cake was in the photo. She was born February 12, 1902. She died on October 12, 1945.
I’d received a stack of tablecloths and napkins from Sandy, a friend of a friend. Sandy thought they’d been cross-stitched by her grandmother. She was downsizing and wanted them to go to a good home. I told her that they would probably end up being upcycled, but in a way that would honor her grandmother’s work.
There’s a lot of memory in these linens. It made me happy to add my grandmother’s story to that history.
Part of the Back Stories series, based on the words found on the backs of photographs.
- Materials: Vintage cross-stitched linen tablecloth and napkins, cotton floss, sequins, glass seed beads, repurposed necklace, linen
- Techniques: Handstitching, raw-edge appliqué collage, sequin and bead embellishment, upcycling
- Dimensions: 28 1/4″ w x 45 3/4” h
- Exhibitions:
2026 – “Fiber, Fabric and Story,” Nancy McGrath Green Gallery, Sunriver, Oregon
