can you imagine?

Library of Congress has wonderful old picture archives.

Wow!!! That's very cool!

What a wonderful piece of history and a great way to get the quilt out of the way when not working on it. Guess with ceiling fans today that wouldn't work.

My cats would use that as a bed in seconds and stretch out the quilt!

This one startled me a moment. Seems like I've seen a picture my Grandma had that looked like that. You could pull ropes that dangled from a side wall and pull this up out of the way to the ceiling. You lowered it when all the work was done for the day, or else friends came to visit and you could sit and chat and sew at the same time. Also it was good for teaching younger women how to sew, especially if they were getting married. (Young women getting married who could not sew were looked down on!) women got together to make a wedding quilt, or simply a Hope Chest quilt for the oldest girl or for someone in need. .

I slept under a very, very heavy quilt made from my uncles' and Grandpa's old worn out coats and pants. It had a soft backing so it was probably flannel, also pieced, so was more than likely old worn out flannel work shirts.

Waste not, want not. Use it up , do it over, make it do or do without. The depression was a harsh teacher to those who lived through it.

Can't you just picture little ones playing under the quilt while their mommas quilted?

My MIL had one of these set up in her living room when I married her son. I now have it (in pieces) in my storage room - on the floor.

You know - that's really cool. The ladies of our past were very inventive!

Cool photo!

The first professional quilter that I ever visited...I went with my ex's mother to pick up a quilt that she had done...had a system like this, on a sliding rail of some sort...the frame moved instead of her long arm machine that stayed in one place...

Necessity is the mother of invention. My grandmother still has hers. I'm not sure where her mother's ended up, it may be in the attic of her old house.