The stories you all have are wonderful. I hope to inspire others to do some quilting before long, it's such a wonderful and creative activity that carries on the history of a family.
I have a few quilts my maternal great-grandmother made and some blocks that my paternal grandmother embroidered but that is all. My grandmother also died when my mother was barely a teen so there's nothing there. My mother preferred crocheting so she made many afghans, mostly for my brothers' families. She did make a couple of quilts for some of the grandchildren. Since I sewed, crocheted and did other handwork, she made only one or two items for me and my family. Other than that no other grandparents or step-grandparents or their families shared my interests in handwork. There must have been some in earlier generations but no record of their endeavors remain .... none that I know of anyway.
I do collect old quilts and unfinished projects from earlier times in hopes that their makers may sense that their work lives on, cherished and loved.