By Deanie Yasner

When the time came for me to decide what gift I wanted to give my granddaughter, Julie, on the occasion of her Bat Mitzvah, I knew I wanted to tell the story of our first 13 years together.  I wanted to make certain that our joyous times together - like baking, reading, Scrabble playing, and story-telling about an elephant named Ellio Dellio - would not be forgotten.   I knew I wanted these precious memories kept alive in a quilt so I spent hours selecting just the right fabric and found Molly Fisher, the owner of Memory Quilts by Molly, who began to weave her magic! Just as people did in the late 1800s, through fabric, Molly created a "Keeping Quilt" for Julie to wrap herself in our cherished memories.

Having read Patricia Polacco's book entitled The Keeping Quilt, I learned about her family's journey and her family's keeping quilt. I knew I wanted my granddaughter to have a Keeping Quilt of her own as well, to treasure and travel with her now and in the future for generations to come - a family heirloom, to be sure!