The way your grandmother learned sounds like the way my aunt taught me to quilt. For years a I thought that was the only way then along came the bicentennial in 1976 and the quilting revival. WOW!! Have we come a long way since then, I can't imagine going back to the old way with scissors, scraps and tying or hand quilting.
I taught some beginners a few years ago and one of them was a lady in her 80's who wanted to learn to quilt, she was using items that had been her mother's. Can't even begin to guess the age of some of that. The point is she was over 80 and still wanting to learn something new, maybe your grandmother needs something to inspire her.
longarm