Saturday, March 28, 2020

CHRISSY CRISIS DOLLS

Francie Ginocchio and I are the founding members of a two person quilt guild called the Spritzer Sisters. (To honor our favorite adult beverage, white wine spritzers.)  I believe I posted snippets of our hilarity sometime in the past.  We enjoyed writing articles about our 'guild' for Ladies Circle Patchwork magazine back in the day.
 SSF (Spritzer Sister Francie) just sent me (SSM) this photo.... no words were necessary.  Wow...what a spirit lifter and memory reawakening this is.  So....here's the story:

SSF and I (SSM) attended a Split Rock week long quilt retreat many years ago in Duluth, MN.  The UWM campus was also hosting a gathering of Finnish folks.  Everywhere we went we heard these happy adorable people calling out  'SISU' as a greeting to each other.....naturally we were curious.  Soon we adopted this phrase.  Here's the definition:

To the Finnish people, sisu has a mystical, almost magical meaning. ... It is a Finnish term that can be roughly translated into English as strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity. Sisu is not momentary courage, but the ability to sustain that courage.
At our next Spritzer Sisters "annual meeting" (at my Wisconsin weekend cabin) we held our annual two-person quilt show, voted and presented ribbons for two viewer choice awards, had show and tell, commenced our annual board meeting with election of officers, reviewed our bylaws, and enjoyed white wine spritzers.

SSF made & gifted me this Chrissy Crisis Doll.  She was inspired by the notion of SISU....  We both hold our dolls very dear and will keep them forever.  So....in these difficult times SSF & SSM want to say to you all.....SISU!!!


4 comments:

Robbie said...

What a fun post!!!! So cute!!!! Thanks for sharing...such an interesting story! And who knew a 2 person quilt guild could be so much fun!!!

Sherrie Spangler said...

I love this! It's just what we need these days. I hope you're getting in a lot of creative time while hunkered down.

Claire said...

sisu needs to be part of everyone's vocabulary these days. Adorable dolls.

Nancy said...

You have to smile just looking at the dolls! And the story that goes with them is terrific. A two-person guild sounds like just the thing to keep some levity. Sisu to you, too!