The quilters at Oak Hills Christian Reformed Church in Portland, Ore., are handing down memories even before their quilts are completed. They quilt in memory of Susie Shackelford. Shackelford lost her battle with breast cancer in 2001.
Her mother, Clarabel Scott, and her sister Carolyn Call, discovered that Shackelford’s quilting hobby had left them with nearly a store’s worth of materials and a number of started quilts and designs.
“She was a fabric-aholic,” Scott said. “She didn’t see one she didn’t like.” Thus Susie’s Quilters was born.
A group of eight or so women gather once a month to quilt. Much of their fabric continues to be donated, and a contribution of money helped the group buy some sewing machines.
The completed quilts are given to Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland and to a transition home for abused women and their children.
Margaret Spaan, a member of Susie’s Quilters, said, “When you see pictures of cancer patients and you hear how now they have something to hold, it makes you feel good.”
