“She Discovered a Hidden Legacy in Her Father’s Shirt—What Happened Next Will Shock You!”
It was a brilliant plan! The problem? Diez had no idea how to make a quilt. But that didn’t deter her. “I jump into projects when I decide I want to do something, and I figure it out,” she said.
Unlocking Memories Through Ironing
Not only did Diez have to learn how to quilt, but she also had to clean the shirts. Most of them had been in storage for a decade, and they were horribly wrinkled. “My dad wasn’t very good at washing clothes,” Diez joked.
For the first time in years, Diez spent a lot of time with the shirts by ironing them. It became a meditative practice for her. The hot iron brought up smells of her father that unlocked so many memories.
Each Shirt Unlocked A Gift
As Diez ironed the shirts, she found little trinkets hidden within the folds. One pocket held a sticker that Diez’s daughter had given to her grandfather. She also discovered bits of food and clumps of pocket lint.
In one shirt, she found a dried plant seed. Like all the other trinkets, she flicked it off and continued working. But the thought of this seed haunted Diez. She regretted throwing it away, and thought that she could have planted it.
Making The Quilt Was An Emotional Struggle
Throughout her quilt-making process, Diez kept a journal of her thoughts and feelings. She wrote about how emotional it was to cut up her father’s shirts. “I find that I feel guilty when I don’t use every scrap of fabric,” she wrote.
