My mother and her 7 siblings grew up in Cincinnati. There was a terrible flood of the Ohio River in Cincinnati in 1937. There was no drinkable water. So my grandmother took herself and some of her children out to stay on a farm with some relatives until conditions were better.

To keep herself and the girls busy, she pieced at least two quilt tops by sewing bits and pieces together, using newspaper for a foundation.

I have two of these tops. They are not beautiful! But the story is nice. There are some newspaper pieces still on the backs of these. One of these days I'm going to sandwich them with thin cotton batting and muslin backing and tie them into something. I think they would hold up better for the future that way.

Hope you like looking!

What great quilts and what a great story. You really have some historical treasures there.

Love it, I see it as a beauty.

I love it too! That is a beautiful piece of family history you have there!

I love the quilts. I agree you need to tie or quilt them to help preserve them. Thanks for sharing:)

Wonderful keepsakes!

What a neat story. So glad you have them.

Pretty treasures!

You need to write the story down, and keep it with the quilts after you finish them off.
I see some of the same prints in yours that my Grandmother in Texas used in one of her quilts from that time frame, too.
How great that they survived!

Oh yes...what Tot's Mom said! Great history makes these quilts remarkable!
Maureen

Do write the story down - what a wonderful treasure!

They are beautiful and loved

What a treasure.

Wonderful. How lucky you are to have them

I love the story, and the quilts are so lovely. :wink:

awesome family treasure!

What a treasure. I love the story behind them too.

They most certainly are beautiful!!! Love them!

Great story & love your quilt tops. We can see what 30's fabric really looked like in them. (I love 30's fabric)
I hope you will finish them & use them.

What a beautiful story! The history makes this quilt as beautiful as anything in a museum. Lucky you!

I love those "real" deal quilts. Beautiful history.

beautiful treasures from the past

What treasures. You are so lucky to have them. You should sit down and put the story on paper for future generations.

Great quilts and family history. I agree that you should write the story down. You should then copy it onto fabric and include the fabric story on the back of the quilts to keep the story with the quilts. May in Jersey

Love the story and quilts! Please preserve that memory somewhere for future generations!

What a wonderful piece of history!

These are beautiful because of the wonderful story they tell. I saw a hexagon quilt top from the mid- 1800s in a museum and you could see the newspapers in the back. Just a thought before you sandwich them.

These are beautiful because of the wonderful story they tell. I saw a hexagon quilt top from the mid- 1800s in a museum and you could see the newspapers in the back. Just a thought before you sandwich them.

Leslie--what a wonderful piece of family history you have. Genealogy records just show time and place. This is a living part of your family history! G

Great story. Write it down so everyone will know it. My mother was in the flood in Cincinnati but she didn't write anything down. Now that she is gone, i think about her old stories and wish she has written them down so we could past them on to the next generation. None of us kids can remember all the details now.

What a true treasure. Thank you for sharing them with us and I agree with others - you do need to get their story written out for the future to appreciate them.

I think it's beautiful! I love the feedsack fabrics :)

Priceless!!! LOVE them!