Over the holiday weekend I was entrusted with the care of about 18 family heirloom quilts! I was asked to document them with pictures and descriptions and evaluate whether they should be (or can be) preserved, restored, cut up to distribute among family members or disposed of. Their condition ranges from really good to extremely bad (one pillowcase appears to be full of just a huge fluffy mouse nest now). About 1/2 the quilts came from my grandmother's side of the family and those have notes with them telling who made them. The oldest of those was made by my grandmother's great-grandmother! (Grandma died about 5 years ago just 4 months shy of 100 years old) The only information on the other half of the quilts is Grandma said they were in the home when she married my Grandpa in 1928. She considered them heirlooms from his family but did not put any information with them as she did with her family quilts. This will be an interesting project learning and recording as much as I can about these quilts so their descendants will know about them.

You are so lucky to have these! Will you be posting pictures of them here too? Please? :D:D:D

WoW, i'm not sure i would want that job--there's a lot to consider there...im sure there will be tough choices...

would love to see photos of them...please, please,please...

That would be a lot of tough choices. Would like to see pictures.

Oh, it will have to be such a great task ahead of you, but how wonderful. it must be exciting to have all those heirlooms

I haven't taken pictures with the quilts I just received but these are pictures of one my grandmother gave to me 25 years ago. It was appliqued by her great-grandmother (born 1812 and died after 1880) and quilted by Grandma's mother and given to Grandma for her wedding in 1928. When she received it she needed the bedding to keep her family warm; therefore, it was in daily use for many years. She explained its poor condition with this story: “One day I washed the quilts and hung them on the barbed wire fence to dry and the cows came and chewed on them.” After that, the quilt was carefully stored until she gave it to me. Last year I finally made the decision the quilt needed to be seen and enjoyed by grandma's descendants and cut it into 10 pieces so each of her grandchildren received a piece of their heritage along with photos and a complete history of the quilt. My piece of the quilt is archively mounted and framed and displayed as I believe most of the other pieces are or will be.

Fortunately, I do not have to make those decisions on the quilts I just received. They belong to my dad and his siblings. I will give them all the information I can and they will decide what to do with each quilt. I will post pictures of each quilt as I document them but that may be a while--trail riding season has begun!

What a wonderful story these quilts will tell!
If you can find "Dating Fabrics..A color Guide 1800-1960" by Eileen Jahnke Trestain ISBN # 0-89145-884-0 published by AQS in Padukah This may help date the unknown quilts from the paternal line.

What a wonderful thing.

Thank you oksewglad! I will look for that book.

Is there a quilt museum near you? If so you might be able to find someone who can give you more information, including how best to preserve each quilt.