Sharing Quilts with New Generations
Quilting is an art form that is as loved now as it was 100 years ago. I learned to quilt from my Grandma about 10 years ago. Quilting is a connection point for many generations. I love that I have been able to share the stories behind the fabrics with Grandma. It is a thread that kept us close and helped us to span the years.
For Christmas a few years ago, Grandma gave me a treasure! I received a doll quilt that she and her Mom quilted when Grandma was only 14. The stories behind the fabric and the memories that she shared made this quilt from Grandma priceless!
Sharing Quilts with New Generations
When Grandma was a 14 year old girl, she and her Mom worked on quilts together. This is the only picture I have of the two of them quilting together.
When Grandma gave me the doll quilt in 2013, she told me how she remembered working on the individual squares and doll pieces on this quilt with her mom. What a treasured memory!
My First Quilt
I remember asking her to teach me to quilt and how I honestly didn’t know what all was involved. I knew it was very labor intensive, and I truly appreciated the craft but I didnot really understand what I was getting into. She laughed at how naive I was in asking her to teach me to quilt in one weekend. Did I really expect to start and finish a quilt in one weekend?
She pulled out her massive stash of quilting material for us to to go through and begin pulling out the fabric I wanted to use. I ended up choosing some green floral material and a matching solid. We were ready to begin. I will never forget how Grandma took me from they very basics of learning how to cut my squares from a cardboard pattern to the process of making my first Nine Patch.
This quilt has stitches from me and from my Grandma! It is something I will always treasure. The Nine Patch now belongs to my youngest son who loves to cuddle with the blanket that comes with hugs and love from Mom and Great Grandma!
Are you a quilter? Do you share similar memories with a grandmother or previous generation? I’d love to hear!
Online Quilt Show
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I have a question for your readers who quilt AND do photography. I’d like to take old photographs and actually make quilt blocks, and have the whole thing quilted. Has anyone done this, and if so…how? And, will it hold up to regular use?