joyce888

I have one of my Grandma's quilts (passed down from my Mom) in the Bow Tie pattern and it has many fabrics from the dresses she made for herself. I can still see my Grandma wearing those dresses. She also made a bright yellow and red solid fabric quilt using a pattern that I believe were stars and I remember no one liking it but me. I always wanted that quilt and wondered were it ended up. Grandma died when I was 12, so I was too young to ask and receive any quilts. I used to sit under my Grandma's sewing machine and pickup any thread and scrap she dropped. I remember my Mom calling me a packrat and Grandma telling her to let me keep it, that I would be a seamstress and quilter one day. I would try to sew those little pieces of fabric with those little scraps of thread and needless to say they never amount to much but I persevered.

Sewnoma

Both of my grandmothers were quilters too - one made heavy quilts out of wool scraps and thick flannel, the other made more lightweight quilts out of quilting cotton with thin or no batting. I loved both! The heavy quilts were SO warm and cozy - when it's REALLY cold (or if I'm not feeling well) these are the quilts that can make me feel comfy again. The lightweight quilts were prettier to the eye and sometimes put away so us kids wouldn't ruin them, but the ones left in my grasp as a kid were great for making forts or serving as capes, and perfect for summertime early-afternoon cartoon watching.

So no one quilt comes to mind when I think of my childhood....I had so many! Big ones and little ones and lightweight ones and heavy ones and blocky ones and fancy ones with painted faces... I was a lucky kid in that respect. In fact I still HAVE several of my childhood quilts, they're delicate and tattered now, but I still have them.

luvstoquilt

There were a lot of 1930's quilts at my grandmother's house. I loved them all. I have her Japanese lantern quilt. The rest were grabbed by other relatives. She gave me the one I have long before she died. I lived with her most of my early life and I think of her every single day with love and thankfulness.

gramajo

Only one quilt from my childhood--a crib quilt my grandmother made for me when I was born. My daughter has it now. What I remember from childhood is "knitting club" my mother and her cousins held every month. They would all get together and work on their knitting, crocheting, some kind of handwork. I remember sitting in the corner in my child-sized rocking chair (that my grandfather made for my mother) and learning to knit.

maryb119

I remember a heavy wool quilt made with scraps of men's wool suits. My gg uncle was a tailor and made men's suits. He used the scraps to make quilts. It was a homely quilts but it was very warm in an upstairs bedroom with very little heat. Old farm houses didn't have heat upstairs....guess kids didn't get cold back then.

Marcia_PA

One of my grandmothers sewed plain utility quilts made from rectangles of wool and corduroy, probably from outgrown clothing and coats, backed with flannel and tied with red yarn. I remember dark green binding. She had a treadle sewing machine. I wasn't lucky enough to inherit one of the quilts. I have plans to make my own--I have a few pieces of corduroy and am just waiting for the mood to strike me!

patsews

Both my grandmothers made quilts. I must have been about 8 years old. I remember my grandmother (father's side) visiting and I was given the task of taking a piece of cardboard to use as a pattern to cut the scraps of fabric into small squares. Then I had to take a big needle and a long piece of thread and string them all together with a knot tied between each one so she could snip them off as she needed them to hand sew together into the quilt she was piecing. I suspect that part was busy work to keep me occupied!! I am certainly happy that I now have rotary cutters, rulers, sewing machines and a longarm quilting machine. I think both of my grandmothers would have been amazed.

orangeroom

None of my grandmothers quilted. One came into this country via Ellis Island from Ireland. Her family did not quilt. The other was from farmland somewhere in Indiana and quilting was not a her thing. However, my first quilts (made 2 at the same time-one for each daughter) were ~1/2 way done and dh said "Oh dear. You need professional help." Now that can be interpreted many different ways, but he really meant I needed to take a quilting class! I had been using a yard stick, a pencil and a pair of scissors. I had no clue what a rotary cutter, quilting ruler or mat were. Can you believe it? The second halves of my daughter's quilt looked great! Seems butt up and all squares are even. The first halves look questionable at best. You can really see my progress! That was only ~15 years ago!

Doggramma

My grandma made those really puffy tied comforters. The only quilter I knew was my friend's grandmother. Her grandmother made her a double wedding ring quilt with her baby clothes.

auntdeb

That is so neat that you have found these old patterns. I want to see it when it is finished.