GailG

Edie, I love your story also. You must be very young because you speak of 1996 like it was a very long time ago. I retired in 1998 and it seems like yesterday. I still have "teacher/school dreams." (Sometimes nightmares! D )

helou

never heard of doing that either. brilliant!

helou

Sorry! I thought the quote would be included in my previous post (#62). I was talking about putting quilts for storage under the mattress as #1 piecemaker mentioned in the first post on page 1. I will remember that as I keep quilting and lacking of places to store them awaiting the "right" recipient as I want to give my quilts to somebody who shows interest in handmade quilt.
I love reading all the stories you wrote. Some are really touching, some are dramatic indeed but all are interesting to read for me.
As a kid I remember having a quilt on my bed. I did not pay attention to it as it was always there, washed and used again. I remember one day, my mother was sewing extra long leftover fabric strips over a sheet what I would now called a foundation. This is the only quilt I remember her sewing. She did not call it a quilt as it was "just" strips of fabric, and no piecing was involved so for her it was "not a real quilt".... and she did not used batting or anything. She loved using her sewing machine. She sew almost all our clothes for my brother and I. She would make suits and pants for my brother and our winter coats, my uniform for school, but no quilt.
When my brother and my SIL had their first baby, I was still at school and I could not afford to buy a nice gift. Mum thought I could learn how to quilt a baby quilt out of cheater fabric as I loved knitting and crochet, but I was not at all interested in any kind of sewing. So I did not learn and the baby quilt did not get made.
I know she did quilt before she married, and it was for her hope chest. As I always appreciated handmade "anything" when my parents moved from their house to a tiny appartment she asked me if I wanted her quilts. Of course I wanted them. I even found out at least one quilt that she had made but I had never seen it. I still have them.
When I met my now husband, 10 years ago, his sister is an avid quilter. I just retired then and I got interested in learning what I could have learn years ago with my mother. My “new” SIL lent me a book, I took a quilting class and that was it. I have been quilting ever since.

JoyjoyMarie

I remember three quilts from when I was little: the first was a beautiful double wedding ring quilt that my Mom's Mom had made for her and Dad. It was often used as the topper for their bed. (My sis has this quilt now that the folks have passed on.) The second was a wonderful satin wholecloth baby quilt with a bunny and shamrocks stitched into it. I am not sure who made it (I suspect it was my paternal grandmother, but it is not signed). It was precious to my mom and it stayed in her cedar chest, (and I have it now in mine). The third was an unevenly patched warm, but scratchy, woolen quilt that we had around the house. Don't know who made it or what happened to it- I was intrigued by this quilt, but also harbored a dislike of it, because my skin was annoyed by the feel, and the colors were mostly dark and what seemed unattractive to me at the time. Now I am so curious about that one- would love to see it again, at this age and stage, my analysis might be entirely different. Thanks for asking - I love to review old memories on occasion, and share them with others.

Chester the bunny

Mine was of a quilt that my grandmother made. My sister and I would spend time trying to find two squares that were made out of the same fabric. Cheap entertainment and a wonderful memory.

cashs_mom

My first quilt memory was of my paternal grandmother sending a big box at Christmas with quilts for my self and my brother. She did beautiful hand pieced and quilted quilts. Mine was fussy cut with little animals and I had the bed quilt and a little doll quilt both of which I still have and still think they are beautiful.

mjhaess

Quilting in a big cold room with my mom, grandma and aunt. My mom used a big old wooden quilt frame that took up the whole room...I hated being in there but my mom gave me no choice..She forced me in there and I am so thankful today...

jojo47

We always had quilts on the beds upstairs when I was small - no heat upstairs in those old houses and Minnesota winters are cold! My first experience with tying a quilt was when I was four and visiting at my maternal grandmother's...she ALWAYS had a quilt on the frame! I asked if I could 'help', and my youngest aunt, who was still at home, gave my a needle already threaded with yarn, and showed me how to poke the needle down through the quilt...I was so little that I had to go underneath the quilt to pull the needle down and then poke it back up through. After a few stitches, I lost interest in 'helping'. I still like to watch, though, and remember Grandma's ever-present quilt frame being up even after she moved to town from the farm. Her specialty was the Log Cabin; she cut her own templates from cardboard, used scraps of fabric given to her by my mom (Mom sewed a lot of my clothes) and other aunts of mine. Grandma made a Log Cabin quilt for each of her grandchildren, which we received upon graduation from high school. The edges of my quilt are a bit frayed, but the quilt is still in good condition and very much a treasure. I began quilting about 12 years ago after a trip to my sister's in Montana. At her suggestion, I took a couple of classes (I had never quilted before this visit) on my return home. Yep, I was hooked!

I don't remember a lot about my paternal grandmother; I was five when she passed away. Some of my cousins have told my that she did beautiful crochet (so did my maternal grandmother), and that is something I also enjoy doing...so does one of my daughters.

Angel Bear

I don't remember ever having a blanket on a bed...we always had quilts. My grandmother and my mother both quilted and I remember that my grandmother always had a large quilt frame in her dining room. When we went to her home on Thanksgiving and the big table was set up and the quilt frame no where to be seen, I couldn't believe it.

These two twin-size quilts were my favorite from my childhood. I could sit for hours looking at the embroidered designs on them. The fabrics in the nine patches were all from used clothing. I still have these quilts but they are just about thread-bare. They need to be washed, but I am afraid they would just fall apart. They might not be beautiful to anyone else, but they are precious to me.
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clhr

I remember helping cutting out patterns for my Grandma's quilts but I was not allowed to sew any. I thought speed was more important that being careful with the seams. I did get to help tie them with her. I now have her treadle machine but I still want to go fast so I have to watch myself.