Grandma Receives Pillow Made from Late Husband's Shirt 10 Years After His Death
Do “clothes make the man” as the old proverb says? Experience would say, “No, clothing is just a covering that doesn’t do much more than merely hint at an individual’s character.”
That may be true, however, we shouldn’t ignore the emotional importance of clothing.
After all, it connects us to people. And that connection can carry powerful emotional import.
Just consider how Yahoo Lifestyle reported on New Hampshire mother Carli Grant’s business. Refashioned Memories makes children’s clothes out of adults’ old garments.
Grant first got the idea when her husband wanted to donate a shirt that always reminded her of the birth of her daughter. That shirt became a little girl’s dress and sparked a passion in her.
“I couldn’t believe that was in the donation pile,” she said. “I said, ‘I can’t donate that shirt. I have to make something.’”
Linda Sweeney from New Haven, Vermont, had a similar experience. According to the Addison County Independent, she was heartbroken when her husband died unexpectedly in February 2018.
After his passing, she was cleaning out her closet but she said, “Dispersing Michael’s things just felt wrong.”
So she didn’t get rid of them. Instead, she decided to turn them into blankets and toys — but she didn’t have an easy time of it.
When Sweeney first started the project, “I felt like I was chopping Michael at the neck,” she admitted. “I could only cut one piece at a time before I had to walk away.
“Then two pieces, walk away. Lots of tears were poured into these quilts and stuffed animals.”
Tears were part and parcel of a Christmas gift that one elderly woman named Ilse Webb recently received. According to Inside Edition, her husband, Bobby, had passed away in 2008 at the age of 70 from pancreatic cancer.
Her granddaughter noticed that Webb had started seeming more sad about his loss. So she and her other family members hatched a plan to give Webb a really meaningful present.
They collected Bobby’s shirts and had them made into a pillow.
They also included a bottle of his favorite cologne. When they presented it to Webb, she could scarcely contain herself.
She burst into tears, but those were soon replaced by warm reminiscences. Her granddaughter said, “My grandfather was the love of my grandma’s life — and still is.”
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