After losing both her daughter and her husband to cancer, Jeannette Labossiere of Carman was inspired to preserve their memory in a meaningful way—and in doing so, she found a way to help others in their grief.
Labossiere, who has lived in Carman since 1977, launched Quilted Memories, a small business creating handmade ornaments using clothing from loved ones who have passed away.
“One Christmas, I decided I would like to make an ornament to send to my sister who wasn’t able to be a part of saying goodbye to my husband and daughter,” she said. She crafted the ornaments using fabric from her daughter’s prom dress and her husband’s ties.
Her sister was overjoyed to receive them.
“She was over the moon,” Labossiere recalled. “It’s something that keeps them in mind every year, whether you hang them on a Christmas tree or leave them in a bowl.”
The gesture resonated so deeply that Labossiere realized she could bring comfort to others by doing the same.
“For the first one I ever made, I had three shirts from three different people and I combined them all together to make one,” she said. “It was a gift for a mother who had experienced that loss. She was quite thrilled with it all because it’s a memory of seeing something that your child and your family member wore.”
The process is entirely by hand. Labossiere starts with a four-inch foam ball, cuts pieces of fabric, folds them into a pattern, and secures them with more than 200 straight pins—no sewing required. Each ornament takes about a day to complete.
She calls it a mix of art, hobby, and healing.
“I get a lot of tears of gratitude and people saying how beautiful it is,” she said. “It’s a grief journey when you lose people, and I just feel this connection and it gives me peace of mind knowing that I’m doing something for somebody else’s grief journey.
“To see the smile on their face and how they clutch it to themselves when they pick it up. They’ll say, ‘This is beautiful, I can’t believe you’ve done that.’”
Although many customers are people she knows, word of mouth has brought others to her as well. Each order carries a unique story: a child’s blue dress, shirts worn fishing or gardening, even colours from a favourite sports team.
“I did receive a call from two women in Winnipeg. Their father had passed and she said to me, ‘He loved a lot of bling, so I want a lot of bling on this,’” Labossiere said. “When they saw it, they said, ‘Oh, Dad would love this.’”
Since she began making the ornaments two and a half years ago, Labossiere has also kept the tradition alive in her own family.
“In the last three years, I’ve lost my husband and both my parents. Every Christmas, I make a point of making one of these for all my nieces and nephews, and for my son and his family.”
Labossiere said she enjoys the quiet time she spends crafting each piece.
“I sit and pin for long hours,” she said. “I try to make it a winter project because it’s nice to have that to turn to. I turn on the Jets game and just pin away.”
Looking ahead, she hopes to expand Quilted Memories to include keepsakes made from clothing of the living as well—baby clothes or blankets that help families remember special times.
Anyone interested in commissioning an ornament or inquiring about the process can contact Labossiere by email at quiltedmemories76@gmail.com or by messaging her on Facebook at Jeannette Des Lauriers Labossiere.
