nana2

In 2007 the editor of our little homeowners newsletter was ill and we needed an article informing our homeowners of the upcoming Christmas party for the kids of our neighborhood with snacks, Santa giving out toys and having pictures made while Ms. Santa takes kids for a ride in a horse drawn wagon. I wrote an article about "Making Memories" which outlined our Christmas activities in my grandfathers home and equated this with the memories we are now making for our children and grandchildren. Each year we have larger turn-outs for this neighborhood event and parents are telling me how much their children look forward to this. Because there has been such an increase in expenses in 2008, I was looking for a way to cut costs for this event so I spent the entire day of the "party" making yeast rolls (dozens and dozens and dozens) to "stretch" our food. The clubhouse smelled of baking bread and even spilled out to the kids and parents getting on the wagon with Ms. Santa. There were so many people who thanked me for this effort, and for this I am greatful; BUT my greatest pleasure was seeing how almost the whole room moved to the serving table when the hot rolls were coming out of the kitchen. I think there were children there who had never had homemade bread. I hope when they are grown adults with children of their own, they will remember a time in their childhood when our neighborhood came together for such a fun time. Those of us who quilt because we remember our grandmothers and/or mothers quilting may have taken away a memory of our childhood that neither our grandmothers or mothers expected. I remember how my mother's sisters exchanged patterns (cut from newspapers), fabric scraps, feed sacks, etc. There was always meals shared, sleep overs, lots of laughter and my mother went home to begin her quilt. Now I actually don't remember her cutting out the fabric or sewing it together for I would have been in school or outside playing or in bed asleep. Later on one of my aunts talked about how hard they all worked to get quilts made for their families and most of the time they only got to work on these after all of their work was finished for the day. Their worked included milking cows, making gardens, canning vegetables. They must have been really tired before they ever sat down to quilt, but without television this must have been a time to settle down before bed time. Sometimes I am sad that our children are so caught up in video games, t.v., going to the mall, etc. Do anyone of you remember how exciting it was to have a new Sears & Roebuck catalogue??? or having the postman deliver a box of baby chickens??? Anyway I guess the point of this walk down memory lane is that many times those of us who quilt, do so because this was an important, happy part of our lives, so I concentrate on making the quilt project in my home a happy, fun time. This week my granddaughter is out of school because she does not have to take final exams. Today we are beginning a quilt for her baby brother. I will cut out the squares and she will be sewing. We don't worry about cleaning house or doing much cooking and if we want, we will stay in our p.j. or gown all day because it is too cold to be outside. When she is an adult and I am no longer with her, I hope she will have comfort and pleasure in remembering these days just as I find comfort and happiness in remembering the days with many of my folks who are now gone. Quilts are so much more than just fabric, thead, color -- that is when someone really takes the time to think about it. Right now one of my husband's grandmother's quilts which is the most gosh awful thing you've ever seen, is covering a Bird of Pardise plant he is especially proud of in order to protect it from freezing. I am sure he remembers her each time that quilt goes over that plant.

dlf0122quilting

Okay, you made me get my box of tissues. I do remember the fresh baked rolls, the Sears Catalog coming to the house, Metal rollerskates, double runner ice skates, skating on the creeks in the winter, all the good stuff. I am so thankful to you for sharing your life with all of us. When my mother passed away I inherited a quilt she had started in 1952 in anticipation of my brothers birth and it has the 48 (not 50) state flowers embroidered into it and was never completed so I got to work on it and I treasure it. I even put it in the home town bi-centennial celebration so others could remember her. I think it is the only quilt she ever tried to make. It was still kinda in pieces when I got it but she had traced a beautiful pattern on one of the plain squares that I presume she had planned to hand quilt when it was in its final stages. I duplicated that pattern and pieced it, then hand quilted that beautiful pattern into it. That quilt means so much to me and I feel that she and I had a special connection while I worked on it even though she was in heaven at the time it was done. I also inherited a quilt top that was made by my grandmother in the 20's and I am trying to get it hand quilted also. It has silk flowers on it and they are rather tattered and torn. I asked a quilt appraiser to advise me on it and she said, "honey, just finish it the way it is and treasure the memories you have of her" so that is what I am doing. My sister wanted to throw them both out and she is an artist (she makes life sized features of people for sale), but I gathered them up from her and said I would take care of them. I am so glad that I was given the gift of being a quilter. I am teaching a couple of my grandchildren to quilt also and it gives me such pleasure. Thanks again for the memories.

teetee

That brought tears to my eyes, and alot of good warm memories. As i have stated before, quilts serve many purposes, and come from the heart.
What was once a neccessity urned into a wonderful memorie

Extreme Quilter

I agree that most of us have had varying degrees of thanks expressed for our quilt gifts, from tears of gratitude to utter silence. The recipients who fail to acknowledge may be the type of people who never express thanks, written or oral, no matter what you gift them. The quilting process is so enriching and fulfilling. We shouldn't let the rudeness of people spoil our pleasure, but we should be very, very selective for whom we labor all those hours. As Mary Quite Contrary pointed out, it is often much more satisfying to just donate to our favorite charities without the expectation of a thank you.

Sometimes the recipients who are the least vocal are the most appreciative in their own quiet way. I handmade an applique quilt for my nephew over thirty years ago when he was born when Pac Man was all the rage. It was a crude, whimsical, cartoonish quilt before rotary cutters were introduced and machine quilting became the standard. He has never mentioned it to me, but his mom said he loved it to death growing up, left it in his bedroom when he went off to college and [/u]he still has it!!!

dlf0122quilting

I belong to an organization at my church that is world wide and we make quilts for those who are hurting, have lost a family member or are going through divorces, etc. I have found that those are the quilts I love making the most and I do not want the recipient to know that it was me who made it. I love giving from the heart and for me the joy has always been in the making. I do not buy or make gifts only to get a "thank you", I do it because I love the person and once a gift is given it is no longer mine. I am sorry for all those who feel angered by the lack of appreciation of the recipients but please allow your heart to soften, it makes quilt making so much more enjoyable.

rebeerose

I made a hand appliqued penguin quilt for my cousin's grand daughter for Christmas this past year. When she got it she picked it up, started off down the hallway without a word, when her Gramma asked where she was going with it, she said I am taking it where I take all the things I love and treasure, to my room. From the mouth of a 3 yr. old. When my cousin relaid the messege I had to laugh, it made my day. A child would treasure a quilt enough to put it in her room right away so it wouldn't get messed up. To me that was my Thanks enough. Some people don't have to say anything, its their reactions and their eyes that tell the whole story.

granpee

oh, i loved that about the three year old. i made my grandson a train quilt and i have a picture of him with a smile on his face. he thanked me and it's on his bed.

catgirl807

I recently made a baby quilt for my niece, and when my sister-in-law opened, she simply said, "Oh, how nice." My brother was a little more appreciative, but then again, we had grown up with only hand made quilts from our great grandmother on our beds. Last weekend we went to visit again, about 3 weeks after the gift was given, and I found the quilt thrown in the corner of my other niece's closet. To make matters worse, the cat was sleeping soundly on top of it. At least someone likes my quilt!

Anyway, I was in the process of making my 3 year old niece a quilt for her bed, but I don't think I can bring myself to finish it...not right now anyways.

granpee

if i ever had the pleasure of receiving a hand-made quilt, i would treasure it so much. i know how much work and cost goes in them and how much someone's heart is in the quilt.

Sharon M

Barbara "Nana" thanks for sharing your beautiful memories with us. I too remember many of the same things. It was especially exciting when the Sears Roebuck catalog came, days and days of looking and wishing. I still have the lap quilt my Grandmother made me in the 60's it will never fall apart thanks to polyester :D also have the cotton one she gave my mother which is now mine. It is worn and loved the material is starting to come apart. We seem to live in a disposable time where people get rid of things becasue the color is no longer in style. Where it cost more to repair something than to buy a new one. So sad :( My project for last year was to make lap quilts for my 6 cousins in loveing memory of our Grandmother. Goal was accomplished and it made me feel good. I am sure it was more important to me than to my cousins gauged on their varying degree of responses. But it was important to me and doesn't lesson the time I spent making them and the memories it brought back to me of time with Grandma. I won't be making any other quilts for that particular qroup of people.lol. I think making quilts for unknown people like womens shelters ect. is best. You don't expect a thank you and I am sure they are appreciated but if not we don't know that. :-)
As with many things, no ... non quilters don't have a clue, as with anything that a person doesn't make themseves, woodworking, jewelry making, glass blowing ect. Who knows maybe a hundred years from now some of our quilts will be treasured by someone that has no ties to our families at all. I volunteered at a historical home and it had a crazy quilt on a cot in a childs room that was made while the civil war was going on and tours of children groups could actually lightly touch something that old that was a piece of history. They were just amazed and it was so wonderful to see and hear their excited expressions of aw.