Stitching a Legacy of Language and Love

From her hometown of Conway, S.C., Rose Russ began a heartfelt journey, stitching together the threads of her family’s history and her own creativity. Rose's parents, both part of the Deaf community, inspired her to honor their legacy in a creative and meaningful way through quilting.

Rose's father, a graduate of the South Carolina School for the Deaf and the Blind (SCSDB) in 1955, was hard-of- hearing due to Usher’s disease. Her mother attended the Cave Spring School for the Deaf, now known as the Georgia School for the Deaf. While Rose's mother was totally Deaf, she possessed a remarkable talent for quilting, a craft that Rose admired but never learned in her childhood.

“I may not have inherited my mother’s quilting skills, but I fondly remember the details of her work,” said Russ. “I decided to try quilting myself, using some of my mother’s pieces she left behind.”

Rose’s mother sewed many variations of American Sign Language “I Love You” hands. After her passing, Rose was inspired to repurpose the hands by sewing them onto 16 quilts which she donated to the Kelly's Kids Child Development Center, located on the campus of SCSDB in Spartanburg.

Kelly’s Kids provides vital services to children aged six weeks to three years who are deaf, blind, deaf-blind or typically developing. The program, a collaboration between SCSDB and Spartanburg County First Steps Early Head Start, is dedicated to the success of infants, toddlers and their families in the Upstate.

“Through quilting, Rose Russ has honored her family's history and language,” said Sam Hook, Executive Director of the SCSDB Foundation. “These quilts, woven with love, will be cherished by Kelly’s Kids for many years to come.”