What are some of your earliest memories of a favorite quilt? Was it the yarn that you ran your fingers through or perhaps the corner of the quilt on your nose? Did you carry it all over the home or was it banned to the bed only? Was it the smell of it? Perhaps it had been stored in the farm closet with moth balls. I know my memories were all of the above except we absolutely had to keep it on the bed.
My late Grandma Ella was known, according to my siblings and cousins, that there was always the smell of moth balls when opening the Christmas box. Every other year or so for Christmas, we received a new square block pattern quilt and a homemade flannel nightgown. The boys got 2 piece pajama sets. Priceless.
I asked Kraig if had a childhood memory of a quilt and he said that his grandma did not make them. I feel a sense of loss that he didn’t get to experience that. Maybe in the future, I will make him one that he could call his own.
After my Grandma passed away, my twin and I ‘inherited’ alot of fabrics. Keep in mind, that it is not Joann Fabrics quality or another high end fabric. In the 1940-1980 some days of my grandma, she stripped down unwanted clothes. Yep, she kept the buttons and zippers. If the fabric was not able to be used for quilting, strips were tied together a huge ball of fabric was made. My dad shared with me that this was his job at 6 or so. Some lucky lady got it to make ragrugs. From the newly created ‘fabric’, squares were cut.
She did have other bolts of fabric too but mostly it was polyester. Today, I am using some of those fabrics incorporated with current styles of materials. I have flannel, fleece, and polyester.
Each piece block is then sewn to the next one until you have your desired length. Now you continue to do this with every row and pretty soon you have strips.
From here, the strips can be sewn together to make your quilt top This is the fun part for me!
It was very common and perhaps still is for ladies to meet together to cut, sew, and bind the quilts. The quilts were donated through a church for missions. Bless their hearts! I wish I could of seen those little faces when they received one of those quilts made with love!
I am continuing to work on this quilt and it is a work in progress. I am a beginner but I am also a lifelong learner. Each step of making this has brought back a memory. I even found a square cut from a dress I remember my grandma wearing! When I am listening to the hum of the Singer sewing machine, I am reminded that piece by piece a beautiful creation is being made. It is not just the art of making it, but the memory of the past and what memories it create in the future. I intend to pass on the tradition to my family of Christmas quilts. AND no, I won’t store it in my own farm closet with moth balls.