DONE! 1yr, 10 mo, 23 days
 

Alright, when I started quilting on January 1, 2011 after I retired from 27 years of teaching, I began because I found a box of pillowcases/shams that were made, embroidered, and/or appliqued by 4 generations of my grandmothers. I am the 5th generation to work (I did the cutting, piecing, and hand quilting all 100" x 100" of the quilt) with these pillowcases. It was far more daunting than I thought it would be and it was my "1st quilt!" Now over these almost 2 years, I have made more than 15 quilts while working on this one at least 1 hour a day and on some days - all day long. i, also, was not smart enough to make one piece for the backing, all of it is made of 12" squares. I named it the "Grandmothers' Pillowcases" quilt. My mother (84 years) is the only living "other generation" of sewing greats and she loves it. This will be passed down to my granddaughter someday. I have learned so much over these two years and I am still having a ball quilting. Enjoy the pictures.

what a stunning quilt!!!! it sure was worth the wait!!!

Awesome job!! Love it!!

What a lovely story to go with a truly lovely quilt. Now that to me is a "true quilt".

Wonderful quilt and you did a great job handquilting it. What a precious family heirloom this is with all the generations from your family in the making.

That is just beautiful! I also love your backing. It is so interesting. I grew up sleeping on hand embroidered pillow cases similar to those. What a wonderful quilt and I bet you just treasure it.

You did an awesome job! It is just beautiful and a wonderful heirloom to pass down.

What a treasure!!!

Beautiful quilt - great idea!

A very pretty quillt and a lovely story!

Oh my oh my oh my, oh my. There just aren't words.

some very pretty blocks
nice

Thanks so much for posting. I have a bunch of pretty hankies and embroidered table scarfs and such. Your quilt gave me some good ideas on how to use some of these things. Kathy

WOW!!! Absolutely amazing, what a beautiful heirloom you have created!!!!!

I am totally and completely impressed. Just beautiful. Great work!

What a stunning quilt, such a treasure!!!!!!

What a beautiful quilt, and lovely family Heirloom!

It came out so beautiful. I think it was well worth the wait!! Congratulations.:thumbup:

what a lovely idea. it's gorgeous!!!

What a wonderful idea to preserve all this handwork history!

Stunning way to use the beautiful pillowcases. Your hand quilting is lovely too.
What a great way to use the pillowcases. Absolutely beautiful.
Marilyn

What an awesome quilt, with a lively history! A neat family treasure!

This is a wonderful quilt. Great way to use those pillowcases. Not to many still embroider pillowcases so this is a great way to showcase an almost lot art.

What a wonderful idea! You did a great job on this. I have a very few, including a set that I believe were a wedding present my parents received. I'll have to be thinking about how I can incorporate them into something instead of just sitting on a shelf. Donna

Wow! What more can I say? It is gorgeous, a true family heirloom!

Oh my, this is lovely! You really need to document (write down) the story of this quilt. The history is just fantastic. Create a Word doc. and once finished choose a nice font/size/paper and print it. Place it with a photo of the quilt in a place where all of your important paperwork is located.

What a lovely history! This story should be shared with the entire quilting world. Wouldn't you love to see it featured in a magazine??

Oh my. That is one awesome quilt.First for this generation to enjoy, and for the future generations to wonder how talented we really were. Thanks for sharing your masterpeice with us all.

how absolutely wonderful. My daughter would love to have something like this. How patient you must be to put the time and work into hand quilting this lovely heirloom. I Love it.

Well worth the work, wait and of course - effort! A job well done.

I have several pillowcases from my past and many crocheted handkerchiefs. I wonder if I could combine the two and make a quilt like you did? I am sure it won't compare as you did a fantastic job but I would like to try to preserve these items. Looks great.

This quilt just makes me feel happy. I love it. It is one of my favorites that I've seen thus far on this board. I really appreciate that you used the hand quilted pillow cases. The quilt has such an antique, vintage vibe. It will no doubt live on through your family as a treasured heirloom. Wonderful job.

Beautiful, interesting and historical. Perfect for the GD who receives it!

What a great idea. This quilt is just beautiful. Nice hand quilting.
Eileen

This is a wonderful memory quilt for you,enjoy. Great job, it was worth the wait.

What a beautiful treasure! You did a fantastic job. Kudos!

It's wonderful!!! And, what a great way to show off the precious pillowcases. May I steal your idea, I do have a stack my grandmother made?

It's gorgeous!! What a heirloom it is.

Gorgeous quilt & love the story even more. Terrific job.

Wow, what an awesome first quilt. Great job. Thanks for posting.