I really appreciate all the posts here both on memory loss / forgetfulness, & old-time cooking / recipes. Thanks everyone for sharing. I am also one of those who still cherishes anything that came from my grandparents; the value is in the memories not the money. I was lucky to get to keep a few pieces of furniture that are over a hundred years old now, but were just my grandma's "inherited hand-me-downs" when she left home to get married about 1928. Part of the draw to quilting for me, in the beginning, was to "bind myself" to her & learn a little more of what she knew. I wish for you all, share your knowledge with your younger generation; I most regret not learning more from my elders before they were gone. They had a lot of common sense, skill galore, & no fear to jump right in & do it.
I recently received all of my MIL's sewing things as she is down-sizing @ 78. Most is not fabric I will use, but plan to donate. However, she did give me a quilt-in-progress that she hand quilted for many years. My dilemma is should I finish it & give it to her this Christmas? She made a comment as we emptied the trunk..."those are such pretty colors together"...I think she still likes her choice in design & color. Not to mention she told me she took it with her on a lot of camping & fishing trips with my FIL; so lots of memories there too. I have never done extensive hand quilting, would it be sacrilegious to machine quilt it the rest of the way? Or should I hand quilt the big blocks (about 16" squares) & then join by machine? It is a QAYG style project, so I can hide quite a bit of the machine work in the sashing.