RugosaB

One reason why quilts are saved:
When I got married 35 years ago, to a man that was close to his grandmother, she died 6 months later. None of his brothers , or his parents even, were interested in the grandmother's keepsakes. And she had A LOT.
She had 6 quilts, hand quilted, stored away in a spare bedroom. I knew they had at least family worth so made sure my husband's mother and 3 brothers got them.
I was young, thought I was doing the right thing, but I suspect they are gone now.
She had an old wooden loom in her basement kind of like it was in storage. I could have kept it, but there was so much going on (we had bought a 1915 Craftsman house with all it's contents the 90 something owner had, there was just too much to keep) I let his mom get rid of it.

A few years ago I finally realized, maybe she didn't make the quilts. There was nothing sewing related in her house, but they were stored away with care. My husband said he never saw his grandma sew, just knitting.
Then I went through the photos she had, that no one else wanted, and she had 4 pictures of her mom, sitting at her quilting loom. She had all 4 of these photos laminated, a sign they should be kept.

We figured out:
The photos were of my husband’s GREAT grandmother, and I cherish them and will pass them on to the next generation. The quilts, kept in pristine condition up in grandma’s spare bed, were HER MOTHER’S!
I wish now I had kept the others, to be passed on to his brothers when they appreciated them, but what’s done is done.

So, sometimes quilts are kept because someone special made them, and maybe someone else who thinks they are special will take care of them.

I now see that my husband’s grandmother was like me, a keeper of family stuff, to be held for the next generation.

I really need to write a notebook of all this family stuff