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The art of quilting by hand is fast becoming only a fond memory. How many among us remember watching someone’s grandmother spending many countless hours hand piecing and quilting a beautiful piece of art to be used to stay warm during long winter nights? The hand made quilts were each made with love and many hours of hard work. It would take days and months to create a hand made quilt.
I remember when I was a young girl, my mom, grandmother and other family members would gather and quilt on a set of frames that hung from the ceiling in our basement. They would quilt and discuss all the good gossip that was interesting in those days. I would watch in awe as the beautiful quilts were created. When I was about eight years old, my mom said it was about time that I joined and started making my own quilt blocks to be made into a quilt someday. I was so excited that I would be able to make something so beautiful that I could use to keep warm, and it would be a pretty addition to my bed.
I started cutting pieces of material and sewing them together to learn how to make quilt blocks. I soon got distracted and starting designing clothes for my Barbie doll. But when I was bored with dolls, I began piecing quilts again, and my first quilt blocks and quilt tops are now some of my most treasured items. I learned to quilt the quilt tops out when I was in high school and finished my first quilt when I was in college. I was so proud, and I still have it to this day. I have been quilting ever since. One quilt I made went to my brother for payment on having my car painted. Another quilt went to my niece as a wedding gift. I have given a few quilts away, but only for very special reasons. It is so hard to part with a quilt after you have put your heart and soul into making it.
The quilts that I have managed to keep will be handed down to my son and daughter to be cherished by them and their children. I plan to instill in them the same love and respect for the beautiful heirlooms that are created with so much hard work and a little love. The tradition of quilt making by hand should be kept alive though each generation.
I have some old quilts that I treasure and would never part with. I have four quilts that I bought from an older lady here in my town at a yard sale. She told me she was selling them because she had so many and no place to store them. I was so honored to purchase them from her. The quilts were from the 1930's and were all hand pieced and hand quilted by her grandmother. I purchased them for $50.00 each and told her that I would take very good care of them and cherish them as if my own grandmother had made them. The patterns of the old quilts were double wedding ring, ocean storm, sunflower, and Jacob's ladder.
My mom is 89 years old now, and she has given all my sisters, brothers, and me a lot of her quilts and quilt tops that she has made over her life time. One quilt in particular that I cherish so much is called a grandmother's flower garden. This quilt is so beautiful; every stitch is sewn by her hands and quilted by her hands. The material she used was her mother's old dresses and aprons, and her father's old shirts after their deaths. Each piece in the quilt is only about 1 inch in size. She sewed each piece with love and memories of my grandmother and grandfather until she had created this one piece of art that I treasure more than any other I have ever seen. She quilted this old quilt in the 1940's and kept it safe in an old trunk she had of her mother’s. She made this while she was raising five kids. I am the baby of the family and, as I said, have been piecing and quilting with her since I was eight. She gave the old trunk and the quilt to me along with my grandmother's old Singer sewing machine that I made my doll clothes on as a child. I will always treasure these heirlooms, but the old quilt will be my most treasured item.
Although new fabrics make lovely quilts, using scraps and pieces of old articles of clothing like Mom did is a wonderful (and economical) way to give new life to clothing items that might otherwise be thrown away. Some people even create quilts that act as family “albums”. Can you imagine looking at the blocks of a quilt and knowing that this piece of fabric came from your child’s old favorite shirt or that piece from your mother’s old dress? What a wonderful way to preserve memories!
My mother and I still get together and look through quilt books, piece quilts and quilt together. She just recently hand stitched and quilted a baby quilt for her great-great-grandson, who was born in May, 2008.
It is so comforting to curl up in a warm hand made quilt that you know was made with love just for you. I always say that the best night's sleep is under a quilt made with love. My hope is that more people will take those fond memories of quilt making and bring it back as a tradition that is kept alive in their family for each generation to enjoy and cherish.
This article is not about how to make a quilt because there are so many articles and books and classes out there where you can learn the basics of quilt making. This article was written to instill respect and love for a tradition of hand-sewn quilts hand made by a loved one. It would be nearly impossible to show you how to quilt by hand in an article, so find a family member or neighbor who knows the craft, or just take a class on how to make a quilt. If you are lucky enough to have received a quilt from a mother, grandmother, family member, or bought one from someone, please take care of it and cherish it, because it was created by hard work and love.
For more information on caring for your handmade or vintage quilt, try these websites:
The Alliance for American Quilts
Mae
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