I Herd Ewe

I haven't taken pictures with the quilts I just received but these are pictures of one my grandmother gave to me 25 years ago. It was appliqued by her great-grandmother (born 1812 and died after 1880) and quilted by Grandma's mother and given to Grandma for her wedding in 1928. When she received it she needed the bedding to keep her family warm; therefore, it was in daily use for many years. She explained its poor condition with this story: “One day I washed the quilts and hung them on the barbed wire fence to dry and the cows came and chewed on them.” After that, the quilt was carefully stored until she gave it to me. Last year I finally made the decision the quilt needed to be seen and enjoyed by grandma's descendants and cut it into 10 pieces so each of her grandchildren received a piece of their heritage along with photos and a complete history of the quilt. My piece of the quilt is archively mounted and framed and displayed as I believe most of the other pieces are or will be.

Fortunately, I do not have to make those decisions on the quilts I just received. They belong to my dad and his siblings. I will give them all the information I can and they will decide what to do with each quilt. I will post pictures of each quilt as I document them but that may be a while--trail riding season has begun!