Grace Brandt sews beauty in every stitch
By MICHELLE BOSWORTH
Staff Writer
Living in a farmhouse built in 1908 by her grandfather, Gerhard Ewert who emigrated here from Prussia, Grace Brandt recalls how she used to take care of 39,000 laying hens. "They took most of my time," she says. But when she and her husband Raymond decided to give up the chickens, Grace remembers feeling "lost." She didn't know what to do because all of a sudden she had too much time on her hands.
Her aunt, Ethel Abrahams, took Grace to a quilt show in Peabody and she fell in love with a quilt named "Boston Commons." Deciding to make one for herself, Grace bought the pattern and taught herself to piece quilt tops. She never looked back and since 1989, the lady who was "lost" has found her niche in the time-consuming art of piecing quilt tops and quilted wall hangings.
Then about 10 years ago, she learned a new dimension of her art. Grace attended the Adobe House Days in Hillsboro. She watched Shirley Kasper demonstrate the technique of appliqué. Upon trying it herself, Grace found that it worked beautifully. She was thrilled to find a new outlet for her creativity.
Grace focuses on sewing quilt tops and the tops of quilted wall hangings. Her sister, Dorothy Goering, quilts the wall hangings and Grace binds them. Church groups often bring material and ask Grace to work up a top for a quilt that they will finish and sell at the MCC sale. Also, she is often asked to make quilt tops to order because of her excellent workmanship.
Grace works under a bright light near her kitchen window where the sewing machine sits, always ready to begin another project. Her home is decorated beautifully with her wall hanging art. And at the age of 70 (71 in April), Grace has no plans to pack away the sewing needle, thread, and material.
But as a patient struggling with the effects of cancer treatment, Grace acknowledges that she feels "tired of being tired." Yet quilting makes her feel better. She takes samples of her work to show her doctor in Newton. He "Ooohs" and "Aaahs" over them and tells her, "Keep going
Although she focuses on wall hangings now (with 83 to her credit), Grace has put together 121 quilt tops, half of which she makes for charities like Bethel College, First Mennonite Church, and the MCC sale. Two years ago, she made a quilt top for the Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church called "Stars of Many Colors." Grace made the blocks, the church members arranged them, and Grace sewed them together. Then the ladies from the church quilted the whole project. At the MCC sale, that quilt sold for $7,800.
Grace has been involved in making at least 20 quilts for the MCC sale since she began sixteen years ago. It is one of her favorite charities. "I like to do it for MCC," she says, "because the proceeds go to those who really need it." She has gone to the sale every year for as long as she can remember and she notes that often the people who buy quilts aren't Mennonite. There is at least one exception, though.
Sheepishly, Grace admits there were some quilts she just couldn't part with. "At the MCC sale, I had to buy them back," she says with eyes that sparkle.
She has made quilts for all three of her children and all six of her grandchildren also and she feels the same way about them. "I still have all the grandchildren's quilts," she admits, "I don't want to give them up!"
Knowing that grandson Dustin's quilt, "Mariner's Compass" won the honor of being Top Quilt at the Marion County Fair, it is not hard to understand Grace's feelings. She is a talented artist who stitches love and warmth into every piece she creates, making them difficult to part with.
Her latest wall hanging which displays the talents of Grace, her daughter Julie, and her sister Dorothy, is filled with intricate, time-consuming needlework. When she tells about creating it, Grace smiles and acknowledges that she almost gave up. Almost
