Jinny Smanik - Telling Stories with Fabric

A mother of three and grandmother of four, Jinny starts this casual conversation by talking about how her love of family runs deep. Whether it’s her own family stories that remind her of her roots, biblical stories that help ground her in her faith, or stories of quilters that affirm her creativity, the common thread that runs through all of her families is the power of shared stories. When woven together, these stories create a new fabric of life.

Jinny’s mom taught her to sew on an old Singer treadle sewing machine. What began out of necessity became a passionate calling. She shares her memories of learning how to sew and quilt, and how her art evolved over time. She talks about how each machine has its own song that it sings, its own tenor that tells you when something is going right and when it isn’t. Every stitch has its own story. (3:38-4:29)

Like many quilters, Jinny finds comfort and warmth in the quilting community. Although she moves frequently, the quilting community keeps her connected. She says, “When you go into a quilting shop with something you’ve created, it always sparks a connection.”

For her, this connection runs deep. When she was diagnosed with cancer in 1995, she went from running a family and working full time to being on a journey of healing. When she shared that she had cancer with her watercolor quilting group, she started receiving cards from women sharing their own healing journeys. Often, the cards also contained scraps of fabric that were part of their personal stories. Ginny took those scraps and created a quilt about her own journey with cancer. When she shared the finished quilt with her husband, he asked if she had intentionally made a cross in the center of it. She had not. The fact that it organically happened affirmed Ginny’s belief that quilting creates its own kind of spiritual connection. The quilt was also a reminder of the support Jinny received from each of her families, especially the quilters. You can see this wonderful quilt in the book With Sacred Threads: Quilting and the Spiritual Life by Susan Towner-Larson and Barbara Brewer Davis. (6:00 – 8:46)

Jinny shares her love of quilting, all forms of quilting. From water color quilting where you paint with fabric by piecing together fabrics of different hues and shades, to bright modern quilts, to historical quilts that echo the history of the colonial era. Being in a quilting group that creates revolutionary quilts is particularly rewarding for her. She talks about the beauty of creating quilts from scraps of other women’s stories to create a new story. There is, as she explains quite eloquently, something warm and beautiful about telling stories with fabric. (8:55-11:17)

As quilting groups have been pulled apart due to Covid, Jinny believes that looking back and remembering history is a way to look forward. As an example, she cites how people on the plains were separated, and yet they continued to create and piece quilts to stay warm. She encourages quilters who are feeling isolated to join a Zoom quilting group, to use the art of quilting as a way to stay connected while reaching out and helping those in need, whether it’s people in hospitals, or those living in shelters. Jinny deeply believes that quilting can help us express ourselves and share stories that uplift one another in a deep and meaningful way.

Be sure to tune into Jinny’s podcast to learn more about telling stories through quilting. If you’d like to reach out to Jinny to share your journey or learn more about hers, feel free to email her at Virginia.smanik@gmail.com

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