Quilt made for storm victim
CONCORD TWP — Bertha McKinney's generosity will soon be reaching south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Grandma Bertha, as she's known to family and friends, is putting together a quilt for one of the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.
It includes an old quilt top that was found in pieces among the remains of the home of Kay Manning. Manning is a friend of a friend of McKinney's who lived in Slidell, La., when the hurricane hit.
The 82-year-old McKinney hand quilts to keep her fingers limber because she has arthritis. She has made countless quilts for her family, friends and church members through the years.
That's where she got the nickname, according to her daughter, Judy Steward, also of Concord Township.
"These quilts aren't just a work of art, they're a work of heart," Steward said of McKinney's work.
McKinney is about a quarter of the way through the queen-sized quilt for Manning. Though she's been quilting nearly her entire life, this is probably the biggest project she's taken on, she said. She warned the owner that it may take months to finish.
"That was the stipulation, that it will be here through the summer," said McKinney.
McKinney received several pieces of the quilt, in the form of six-inch units made up of one-inch hexagons. She had to start with the center of the quilt and build out, according to Steward, making a traditional design in the process.
The pieces are from old dresses and other clothing that was worn by family members, but all are color-coordinated, Steward said.
"It's going to be pretty when its done," said McKinney. "It's still mostly in tiny patches now."
The quilt likely dates back to the 1920s, according to Donna Steinheiser of Butler. Steinheiser is Manning's friend and hooked her up with McKinney when she heard about her friend's plight following the hurricane."Kay (Manning) salvaged her great-grandmother's quilt top," she said. That relative, Arabella Quinn, had been a quilter and had passed the unfinished pieces down to Manning."She was so happy to find those pieces," said Steinheiser. "So many other belongings and keepsakes were lost or blown away."Manning and her husband, Jerry, were instrumental in keeping their neighbors alive during the hurricane and its aftermath, according to Steinheiser. The couple lived in the upper floors of their home without electricity and water for weeks and gave survival tips to neighbors.The water was between 2 and 3 feet high on the first floor, said Manning. She feels very lucky the water stopped rising when it did, because the quilt pieces were in a top drawer in a nightstand and just barely avoided getting soaked.Just before Katrina, Manning said she tried to find someone to finish her quilt. She had a hard time locating anyone locally, then talked to her friend, Steinheiser, about it."I was afraid some of the squares would fall apart, but it's pretty well preserved," she said. "If it made it through Katrina, it can make it through anything."She's thankful that McKinney agreed to hand quilt the pieces because machine quilting may lessen its value, she said."Bertha was so kind to do this," she said. "It's one of my little family heirlooms. I really can't thank her enough."Manning and her husband rebuilt their home but decided later to sell it and move to Pervis, Miss.
