Family Quilts

Since I don't have anything of my own work to show at this moment, I'm taking the opportunity to do something I've intended to do for quite a while, post some pictures of family quilts. My mother, grandmother, and my husband's mother and stepmother were all quilters, and I've inherited a collection. There are others that my mother still has, many of them in the real made-for-daily-use category, but some are interesting.

The first was made by my mother. It's hand pieced and hand quilted (of course--she still turns up her nose at anything else). The pattern is Dove in the Window, I think. I don't know when it was made, probably the 60's, but Mom always used scraps from clothing or from her stash, so the fabric could be any era. Mom's work isn't as good as the other two ladies here, but it's still nothing to be ashamed of.


The appliqued basket quilt was made by my mother-in-law, sometime in the 40's or 50's, I think. It was apparently from a kit. She did beautiful hand work. It's odd-- I used to think these colors were so weird, but they look fairly stylish now, thanks to some of the retro color schemes you see around.


The last one, and my favorite, was made by my father's mother. She was a real quilting star. My mother says she always bought fabric just for her quilts, very unusual at the time. Another thing about my grandmother's quilts is that she had a rather sophisticated eye for color and fabric and her quilts do not look at all like other quilts of the time. Although I guess red, white, and blue is fairly classic, that yellow separates it from the common herd, IMHO. If you click on the close up you can see the quilting stitches. There's an unfortunate stain in the upper right hand corner, but this quilt is still a treasure.




I still talk quilting with my mother although our tastes are very different, and I often think about my grandmother and mother in laws, wishing they were around to talk to also. Anyone who still has an older-generation quilting friend, appreciate it!