My earliest memory is of playing under the quilt that my grandmother, mom and other ladies were quilting in her living room. She always had a quilt on a frame hanging from the ceiling. I "got" to thread needles onto a spool of thread for her since she struggled to see the needle eyes. I'd thread about 10-12 needles onto one spool, and she'd use them all by week's end. The quilts were all utility quilts--heavy, rough quilts that weren't necessarily pretty. They were made of large blocks of fabric and quilted to last. My grandmother had an old wringer-type washing machine and it had a load with a quilt went in. Of course, they were probably washed only once each year during late summer to get the musty smells and dust out. She hung a few on the line and beat them with a small broom in the spring before putting them away. We'd play under the quilts while they aired out, pretending they were tents.