PALESTINE —
Palestine resident and Leon County native Bertha Graham loves quilting.
So when Cartmell Home for Aged Administrator Tim Kozik asked Graham to consider sharing her love of quilting with the residents 3 1/2 years ago while she was visiting her mother at the home, she did.
Starting out originally in a small corner at Cartmell, the quilting group now meets for about two hours on Mondays starting at 9:30 a.m. in Cartmell’s new “The Happy Stitchers” sewing room.
“I love the people — they are the sweetest people, so kind and considerate, they are good to be around,” Graham said. “I love quilting and I love the company.”
Quilting alongside her the whole time has been resident Josie Croft among the other residents who sew with them. Others come and go, but are always welcome to quilt or visit while they sew.
“We are working on our 14th quilt,” Graham said. “We love it when people come talk to us and visit with us — it makes the time go by faster.”
Graham makes the tops at home and cuts out the patterns. Residents and family members often provide scrap material for the quilters.
A few years ago, the quilters won second place for a quilt they hand-stitched together in the Ageless Quilt Show in Austin.
The quilters also have donated a quilt for Cartmell Home’s Relay for Life team. Tickets for the quilt are available at Cartmell.
Since she began quilting 17 years ago, Graham has made more than 150 quilts personally — which have all been given away to family members, friends, etc.
“There’s no point in selling them — it turns it into a job,” Graham said. “I quilt for people. It’s a one-of-a-kind and I believe it shows the person that you care.”
Graham describes quilting as “satisfying and relaxing.
“It’s a dying art — hand quilting — it’s going to machine quilting,” Graham said.
Her favorite quilt was “Road to Oklahoma.”
Graham was born in Flo in Leon County. Her parents were the late Ben and Ida Boykin. Her father was a cowboy who worked on the Leon plantation. Graham attended school in Oakwood.
“Oakwood was a big town then with three gins and over 1,500 people,” Graham said. “Now when I drive by it, it breaks my heart remembering what the town used to be.”
Graham married her first husband Darewood Pierson in 1960 and moved to Elkhart. She worked for Westwood school district for 15 years as a cook and three years at Elkhart as a janitor. She married Charles Graham in 1990.
“We lived in Rockdale for 12 years,” Graham said. “When he retired, we moved back home.”
Bertha has four children and her husband has four children. Together, they have 23 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.
Graham attends Calvary Baptist Church. She also is involved with the Radiant Ladies Bible study and the Senior Saints Fellowship at Evangelistic Temple.
Local Scene
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Bertha Graham, left, quilts alongside Cartmell Home for Aged resident Josie Croft, Thursday in the Cartmell Home sewing room called “The Happy Stitchers CHERIL VERNON
Discussion
Sharing the love of quilting
Leon Co. native enjoys quilting with Cartmell Home residents
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