carolinacurl

Wonder what they used mostly for batting in the 1950s that made the quilts so heavy? Love reading all the memories of quilts from your childhood.

Marian Schermerhorn

I remember walking on the sheep fleece in the bathtub to wash it before it was used as batting in a quilt. My father sheered the sheep. Grandma Arnold made the quilts. She also spun the fleece into yarn and knitted sweaters. And I was lucky that she lived across the street from us. I was the only one that did not get a Grandma Arnold quilt before she died. Ahh the curse of the middle child.

maviskw

I remember sleeping over at my aunt's house. Those children sometimes wet the bed, but those quilts were made of wool and did not smell. And that is true of clothing, too. If you wear 100% cotton, there will be much less B.O.

Jo Anne B.

My maternal grma was the quilter, my paternal grma was the seamstress. As a liittle girl I remember Grma L. quilts frames being up in spare room off the living room. Grandma L. made quilts up until her passing, the Nursing home even gave her space to put up her frames. Grma's specialty was DWR with scalloped edges all hand sewn. All 16 of her children, and some of her grandkids received quilts. The tradition in the family is the quilts are passed down to the granddaughters. I have two and they are my joy! My mom said more than once that when people would ask how she could find time and patience for quilting with all her kids, Grma would say "It's what kept her sane"
My Grma J. was the sewer, she sewed my sisters clothes while she was in college, my sister still can say the clothes were beautiful. Grma J. made me a whole cloth tie quilt, pink with blue and gray kittens, it was quickly delegated to the brothers beds upstairs where it stayed for years, when I saw it again it was tattered and torn. (Kind of a sore/sad point now.) My mom took a quilt with her to assisted living, when she finally handed it down to me I found it wadded in a corner of the closet with a wet urine spot. The thing washed up like a champ. I have had one of the quilts looked at by a antique appraiser she deemed the quilt from the 1930's. If the house catches on fire it with be my quilts and furbabies that I grab first.
I miss my grandma's now more than ever.
I spent a Summer learning hand embroidery from my mom sewing on Tea towels. I free hand drew the design(a dog), my mom used that towel for years. Wish I had grabbed that now, wow the little things that get away.
Thank you for a wonderful thread, nice to share such memories at this time of year when we are missing our loved ones.

sash

My mom didn't care for quilts; she said they were too heavy. The quilts I make are very light; I use W&N batting. I wonder what they used in the quilts to make them so heavy.

pennycandy

We only had one quilt that was made by my great grandmother. She sewed clothing and things for the home like many others in the time. It was utilitarian, no fancy pattern. Lots of clothing scraps and was heavy as well. I remember the backing was a heavy cotton. It disappeared after it became tattered. My mom must have thrown it away and I wish she hadn't. It was on my bed and I had grown fond of it. Now it's only faded memories.

madamekelly

When I was in ninth grade, I was a teacher's assistant for a kindergarten class. At Christmas that year, the teacher gave me a red and white "old maid's puzzle" quilt that she had made just for me. It was beautiful and set in motion a lifelong love of quilts. I never got to sleep under my beautiful quilt, because my then stepmother took it from me and gave it to her friend for Christmas! She even claimed to have made it! (I never forget to sign my quilts for this reason.) I cried every night for what seemed like months. I never told the teacher what had happened to her beautiful gift to me. (Years later, and with a new stepmother, I told the friend the truth about the quilt, but by then the dog had had it for quite a while.)

RedGarnet222

Sun bonnet sues for me and my sister from my meemaw Vealia. They were lost in a move years ago sadly.

Friday1961

As a child I slept under a Sunbonnet Sue quilt made by my maternal grandmother, with whom we lived. I still remember the fabrics -- a pale green print on white and solid pale yellow. We wore it out, I suppose, and at some point it was discarded. Quilts were common then -- everyone had them (only rich people had blankets) -- and perhaps not as treasured as they should have been. How I would love to have that quilt now or even a scrap of it.

crafty pat

Feed sack scrappy quilts three or four at a time to snuggle under on the cold winter nights when we lived in our old country farm house.