In my third novel–A Tapestry of Secrets–my heroine is a quilt artist. Her mother (Margaret) and grandmother (Perla) are traditional quilters, but Ella makes pieces meant to be hung on the wall or displayed on a table.
My inspiration came from my own quilting heritage. Now let me be clear–I don’t quilt and don’t expect to take it up any time soon. It’s a gorgeous art I admire, but it requires a pretty solid chunk of time. Not to mention patience. So I’ll stick to piecing words rather than fabric.
But my great aunt and great grandmother were mighty quilters. Aunt Dorothy did it for the art–her stitches immaculate and designs lovely. Grandma Jane did it to–well–keep her family warm.Aunt Dorothy bought the fabrics she wanted to use for each design. Grandma’s are pieced from scraps and used clothing as best I can tell.
I have quilts each of them made. Grandma’s are mostly tattered and not in great shape while Aunt Dorothy’s have been better preserved.
I’m proud to say they’ve ALL been used. And have all offered comfort of the best kind. So here they are–some of the quilts I know. Click on each one for the caption.
-
- Aunt Dorothy gave me this one when I graduated high school.
-
- One of the baby quilts Grandma Jane made for my mother to use. I hope this one was mine!
-
- This quilt, I think made by Grandma Jane, was on my bed when I was young. One year, Mom made my birthday cake to match it.
-
- IMG_0438 (2) This is one of Great Grandma Jane’s that belonged to my grandparents Rex and Burla (her son and daughter-in-law). I like to imagine what shirt or sack each bit of fabric might have come from.
Yeah, I know. Lots of pink. Now how did I get to be such a girly girl?!?
I still have a few and they are all in great shape. Wonderful things to be able to pass along. I love my quilts, and afghans!
I knew you’d have some! I should have asked you for pictures for this post. Remember the chest of drawers upstairs with nothing but quilts in it?
I do and there is one that I kept that was for a little boy, it has cars on it. It is still in pieces with some sewed together. I would love to either learn how to finish it or have someone do it for me.
Oh, that’s extra special!
Actually the one from your childhood (that I made your cake replica from) was made by my Aunt Nancy (yes who I was named for) and given to me as a wedding present. I didn’t know you still had it. You should have gotten a picture of the one quilt I made (pieced for my mom one mother’s day and quilted on Dorothy’s frames in our living room when Daniel was crawling around and given to mom the next mother’s day.) Daniel has it and I hope will pass it on to Olivia. Hard for me to imagine Fern made Jean’s queen size quilt in under 3 months start to finish! I wish you had one from Bess’s daughter…..
I’m glad I posted the picture so you’d recognize Aunt Nancy’s quilt! I thought the style was pretty different from the Laurel Fork ones. I remember you making that quilt, but didn’t know the story. The quilt frame made an excellent tent.
I also love my quilt inheritance….I make some….the kind you can throw on the floor for the dog if needed….. I’ll leave the art quilts to the artists….and stand back in admiration….
Dog quilts–there’s probably a lot of money in that!
My grandmother quilted, too. I have maybe five quilts she gave me. Oh, when their home burned … all her quilts were lost. That was probably the saddest consequence of the fire, to me. Just broke my heart. All those years of working her hands. She had every bed covered in quilts … several. You wouldn’t get cold in the winter. I’m so thankful for the ones she gave me. I have a few doilies, too, that she made for me. And on the quilts … once, she let me pick out my fabrics. That was awesome!! 🙂 I tried making one … but yeah, I’m not patient enough … or at least, I wasn’t years ago. I think I’ll stick to writing, too. 🙂
Exactly–it’s not that I don’t want to learn to quilt, it’s just that I need to prioritize!
As for the fire–how sad! I wonder if there are quilts in heaven??