MCH

I have a quilt that my husband's Grandmother made. It's a heavy, gorgeous "scrappy", but yet very orderly in its design. (She was German and English; no further explanation necessary). The backing seems to be muslin flour sacks.

My husband remembers using the quilt to make a tent when he and his cousins visited Grandma. Since the quilt was at his Mother's house and his sister had less than no interest in it, Mother told me to take it home.

I have a picture of my younger son @ 6 months (he's now 41), lying on his back on it with his feet in the air and a big grin on his face.

A couple of years ago, I took a picture of him, his wife and their son sitting on it. Last February, their second son was born. They will all be at the house on Friday...and one thing I need to remember to do is to take a picture of the four of them on the quilt. I must get it out of the closet and put it on the bed as a reminder...

At some point, the quilt and the pictures will probably be my son's.

As for quilters in the family, it was my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my aunt who sewed / quilted. My Mother sewed, but I don't remember he doing as much as the others. I sat next to my great-grandmother's treadle sewing machine as she made scrappy quilt tops from scraps that my grandmother brought home from the dress factory where she worked. I would use the scraps to make very rudimentary dresses ( fold the fabric in quarters, cut an opening for the head and one for the arms) that I would use for my dolls.

Later, at age 10, I joined a 4-H club where I learned to make garments for myself. I sewed all through high school and college. When my boys were small, I made clothes for them...continuing to make clothes for myself. I even taught dressmaking for awhile.

I read about quilting, but I never really took any action.

When our family made a major move to the west coast, I enrolled in a quilting class. Finally!!
This was the class where I learned to use templates and to hand piece (I still prefer that method). I was hooked and here I am today...with a stash that would rival any small LQS.

...and that's my story. I have only one DIL...she loves to sew and is quite creative, but she's 99% occupied with a 3 yr. old anda 10 month-old. But, one of these days she will get to her quilting, I'm sure.