Pieces of a Family Makes for a Warm Story
A quilt titled “All Will be Good” proved to be just that.
It recently won Best of Category Hand Quilted, Piecework at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
But La Grange native Sarah Koehl, who pieced the quilt together along with her mother Mary Jane Muras and other family members, wasn’t always sure all would be good.
“I procrastinated too much in getting the quilting ready and I asked Cecelia Marak and the other church ladies who quilted it when was the last day I could get it to her to have it back in time so we ended up putting this one together pretty quick. We were also fighting some of the blocks and trying to decide what colors to put in,” Koehl said.
On the other hand, the easiest thing was what to name the quilt. Koehl said, “We would just always answer, ‘It would be good, just make it. It will be good.’ There are so many times when we make a quilt where we think a certain block looks awful or a color is horrible, and then you put it all together, and it always ends up looking good. So we just gave it that name.”
“All Will be Good” represented the Area Go Texan Committee for Fayette County, which is a volunteer organization affiliated with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo to gain more scholarships for the students in Fayette County. It went up against all the Area Go Texan Committee counties and the city of Houston with 100s of entries going into each category.
This also wasn’t the Muras family’s first rodeo, so to speak. They have previously entered six times, three for Koehl, two for Muras, and one for sister Gina Kozelsky, with each selected to be displayed at the show.
Amongst the Houston Livestock Show entries, quilting holds a deeper meaning for the Muras family. Kozelsky remembers her mom sewing Barbie doll clothes when they were kids. Along with both of the grandmothers’ hand quilting but especially at their Grandma Muras’ house. Every time they would go over to her house she had a quilt hanging.
Koehl, who is the youngest of eight, on the other hand, remembers being taught how to use the sewing machine by Kozelsky, the second oldest on the machine. Unbeknownst to them, this would be starting a quilting family tradition.
“When I was pregnant with my daughter 19 years ago, I was bummed out that I couldn’t do certain things. So Gina and my older sister Joan said, ‘Well, let’s just go away for the weekend.’ So we went to Praha to our great aunt Johanka’s house, who we called Hanke, and they had a machine. Gina said we can’t do much so I’ll show you how to use the machine so Joan cut and Gina taught me how to use the machine and that’s what started our big family weekend of quilting now called Hanka House Piecemakers,” said Koehl.
“We saw a thing on the wall and we were having so much fun and we said we should have a guild, so we called ourselves Hanka House Piecemakers. We had so much fun that weekend and so many people stopped by to check on us. Every year since we have done at least one quilting weekend Friday through Sunday. Sometimes there will be as many as 20 to 30 people with sewing machines all-around at my mom’s house at one time depending on their schedule. Some can only make it on certain days. Most of the time it will be all family but sometimes the neighbors will even stop by.”
Also, since Koehl learned at that kind of weekend some of the younger ones will tend to learn at that weekend, too. Muras said, “Some may sew a simple square or a pillowcase because we will try to make it where it’ll be something they can take home so they will get excited about it making it special.”
However, this year might be extra special because they have already had two quilting weekends and a special guest stopped by for both. “Father Felix stopped by and he was a natural,” said Kozelsky. “Quilts we make on those weekends are the ones we usually donate to the church picnics so he quilted a patch for the Hostyn Mayfest quilt and Plum quilt.”
Along with donations to various church picnics in the area that have raised thousands of dollars, they also donate to foster care facilities.
Another quilting family tradition that is able to continue being made because of the family’s quilting weekend is the gift of wedding quilts. “Everybody in the family who is getting married will also get a quilt if they are engaged by a quilting weekend. We let them pick out the quilt pattern and colors,” said Koehl.
Kozelsky added, “Even before 19 years ago, for mom and her sisters, it was an old tradition to make a quilt for a bride and groom so they kept that as best they could, but then when we started this weekend quilting, it really picked up again. The quilt will then be somehow used at or during their wedding.”
Now don’t worry about the family members who are not too into quilting. There always is a place for them. “When the announcement is made that a quilting weekend will take place, we say we need quilters, piecers, fabric color pickers, etc,” said Koehl. “Some people will bring us food and some will just come to hang out. Each person has their strengths. You don’t have to be skilled at a sewing machine to make a quilt. There are a lot of ways to contribute.”
Besides knowing just from talking and discussing what makes quilting so special for them when finally asking them what makes quilting so special a hush of thought filled the room. Kozelsky chimed in with the word ‘camaraderie’ while Muras said Sarah’s shirt said it all, “My Soul is Fed with a Needle and Thread,” while Koehl with emotion already in her eyes said, “I always liked doing things that are generational or traditional and so I guess I feel like I’m carrying something on but there’s also a purpose to it. It provides warmth and comfort to those who get the quilt but then it gives warmth and comfort to us who are making the quilt at the same time.”
Kozelsky added, “I like that we can donate so many to help the charities and all the family members who receive a quilt. It just ties the family together.”
Now, while quilting may seem like a simple overlooked thing to some, for the Muras family, quilting is a family weekend filled with love, memories, and traditions where they can each have a piece of their heart for generations to come one stitch at a time.