lindaschipper

When my father walked out (long story, but he came back 14 years later) he left behind a red and white quilt that his grandmother had made. I slept with it every night. I recall thinking that the pattern reminded be of a saw blade and how fitting that was because he was a carpenter. Before he died his sister stole the quilt and I've never seen it again.

K-Roll

My paternal grandmother handquilted, I remember her setting up her wooden frame in her dining room...I wonder how old the frame was. It was very dark wood and looked like it had seen many many years.

She made my sister and I two matching quilts for our twin beds, each square had an umbrella on a pale background, with the umbrellas made out of her dress scraps; sashing was a 1930s green. She embroidered our names in one corner, along with the year, '1960'. We adored them - picking out our favorite prints over and over.

She didn't like our mother (wrong religion, wrong ethnicity) though they had reached some sort of detente; Mother always bent over backwards to stay on her good side. One day we came home from school and our quilts were gone, replaced by chenille spreads. Me being about 9 years old, and my sister 2 years younger, the reason for their sudden disappearance we never knew. Now I think they must have had some sort of intense disagreement that caused my mother to dispose of them or give them away. Mom was a terrific sewist and needleworker, and would have appreciated all the work that went into them. I think it was my Grandma she didn't appreciate. I loved this Grandma, yet also remember the way she treated my mother. Myself, I had the best MIL ever created, thank god.

ube quilting

My Nana was a seamstress and she had her very own sewing room. She did alterations for the neighborhood women and I know she heard a lot of gossip. Her sewing machine was in the very center of the room, a 1935? Singer with that tan dragon skin finish. I forget the model # but it is with me now. It has been passed down through the years and well loved and used. My Nana and Mom are very present with me every time I use it.

Wonderful memories to share.
peace

bearisgray

My Grandma B made "utility quilts" - but some might call them "modern", now. They were tied - usually with yarn. These were usually made from recycled fabrics. She (and my Mom) bought a lot of stuff at rummage sales. I don't think she ever made one from double-knit polyester, though.

tuckyquilter

My grandmother had big oversized quilts (she called them blankets, as did most of my family) made of wool that had been used to put on the horses in winter. When the horses were gone, she washed them up and used them on beds. She also had "feather beds". I loved it. I'd sleep between two feather beds, covered with flannel sheets and a horse blanket on top. HEAVY for sure, but warm and comfy in cold Kansas winters. I spent as much time as possible at grandma's. To this day I like "heavy quilts" on my bed. Of course mine are made of cotton and I'd need 3-4 to make it as heavy as those horse blankets. So I settle for one out here in Southern California.

MsHeirloom

My grandmother only made one quilt. It was a Dresden plate from scraps from sewing her three daughter's dresses. I am fortunate to be the keeper of this quilt.

carolynjo

One quilt that I loved that my mother and grandmother made together was the lone star. I can see it still and wondered at how intricate it seemed with a dark blue background for the enormous star to float on.

maryellen2u

My Grandmother made lap size pieced quilts. I have one of the blocks rescued from a quilt. It is a little pieced cat with very old fabrics, maybe original flour sacks. I have a Dreseden fan quilt which I restored that she made. These quilts were very light weight for some reason. She also made a Sun Bonnet Sue and a Sam quilt. I wonder whatever happened to those. Nice memories!

ddtrina

I remember spending a couple summers at my maternal grandma's when I was young (about 6 to 8 years old). My grandma had a treadle machine in the basement but I never remember her sewing anything with it. She had a huge barrel of old fabric beside it. I don't remember her quilting, crocheting was her passion and she taught me how. She made a lot of afghans, I remember a green ripple one at the house in town and a granny square at the lake cottage.

Patches1900

I had a grandmother who knit and crocheted mittens, hats and the occasional afghan but first exposure to quilts occurred when I was in my mid-teens. My family lost our house to fire in the early 1970's and we resettled in a mobile home with donated clothes and other items, one of which was a tied quilt made mostly of drapery and/or home dec fabrics by members of one of the local churches. I don't believe it was lined; it went to college with me for a year, then to an apartment my husband and I lived in for 4 years before buying our first home. It was well used but not all that sturdily made, got quite shabby and was replaced with one of my own crocheted afghans (I didn't take up quilting until 1989). Sometime thereafter it was relegated to moving pad duties - long gone but I remember studying the crazy quilt patches in it. Perhaps the reason I have a particular love of scrap quilts!