Friday, April 19, 2013

"Q" is for Quilt

For a good portion of my life, my grandmother lived right in our backyard. Not literally in the back yard. I mean, she had a house back there. My mother's mother (Mary Jane) lived behind us when I was very young.

In my teen years, my father's mother (Margaret) lived behind us. I have many memories of being able to walk out of the house and be in one of their homes within seconds. It's great to have grandparents so close.

Grandma Margaret was a quilter. Most of the time, when you walked into her house, she would be working on a quilt. I have no idea how many she made, but those quilts are everywhere. Every family member has several of her quilts. Looking around, I have four in this room right now.

Quilting is not something I have ever particularly cared about, but I was always very interested in Grandma's quilts. I can remember many times upon walking into her house, she would want to show me her latest pattern. She would be trying something new and wanted to show it off. The only pattern name I can remember today is the log cabin pattern, but I used to know several more.

She's been gone four or five years now, but I always think of her every time I see one of her quilts. I have several, so I see them often. Hopefully, they will last forever.




Happily participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. For the entire month of April, 1,723 bloggers are working their way through the alphabet. One letter every day but Sundays for a total of 26 days.

Click here to visit the website and get more information to see if you might want to join in next year. It's a lot of fun, introduces you to hundreds of new blogs and gives your writing some fantastic exposure.

24 comments:

  1. That's very special that you all have some of them.

    Would you post pictures of some? I'd love to see them! (And some of us might be able to give you quilt names for the rest, too!)

    Things like quilts or such treasures passed down from other family members are priceless gifts and legacies, aren't they?

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    1. I may try that. Not knowing much about quilts, it may be a boring post.

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  2. My mom quilts and I've learned how (though I'm not that good at it and it isn't my favorite form of crafting). One of the things I love the most about quilts and quilting is the amount of work that goes into it. It really is a work of love and art.

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    1. I definitely saw that it was a lot of work. I change hobbies faster than it takes to finish a quilt.

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  3. I always think that because a quilt takes such a while to make that the very essence of the sewer is sewn right into it for all time. Your grandma is with you.

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  4. I love quilts. They are warm, beautiful and you know the person that made it put so much effort into making it. I've been taught, but it's so time consuming, I can't quite get into it just yet.

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  5. I had to do the same thing with Anonymous comments for the same reason. Annoying, huh?

    Okay. Quilts. I have never been hugely interested in making them myself. Although I did make one for my grandmother (kind of the reverse of this) and she loved it. Couldn't have given her a better present, she was always hugging it. When she passed away, it was given back to me and my daughter uses it now. Kind of nice to keep the tradition going one way or another.

    It's nice to meet you on the A to Z! I liked your post.

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    1. I was getting about 15 spam comments a day. I had to do this.

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  6. I'm sure those quilts will indeed last a very long time. I wish I would have saved my grandmas quilts. I didn't though.

    Have a terrific day and weekend. ☺

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    1. I only have one that is starting to fall apart. The rest are in excellent condition.

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  7. My grandma crocheted and I still have a blanket she made me probably 30+ years ago. I love it. Smells like her. As many quilts as we have from my mom, I know that my kids will cherish them as they get older.

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    1. I wonder if a crocheted blanket would take even longer to make.

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  8. I do admire women who make quilts. All that attention to detail, not to mention the time and patience it takes. What a beautiful way to always remember a loved one.
    Would have loved to have seen some pictures. :)

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    1. A few people have mentioned the pictures. I may have to do that.

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  9. I think it's wonderful that you have these mementos of your precious grandmother.

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  10. Quilts; a wonderful tangible memento with which to remember your grandmother

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    1. Absolutely. They will be around for a long time.

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  11. What a lovely, tangible memory you have of your grandmother. I hope you have one of her quilts too.
    Jagoda

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  12. My mom used to have a quilt that hung up on the wall. One of her grandmothers made it and gave it to her. She never wanted it to get dirty because washing it would eventually ruin it, so it was decoration. We lost it in a move and I still wish she could have it back for the memories.

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  13. Once when I lived in Pennsylvania, my sister was visiting and we did Lancaster County. We were in an Amish quilt shop, and talked to the women there about our grandmother's lifelong passion for quilting, and the variety of methods she used.

    When we said that we had not followed into that pursuit... I will never forget the look on that woman's face. She was clearly flummoxed at the idea of being raised around quilting and not taking it up!

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    1. It's amazing how anyone who is really into a hobby cannot conceive of there being other people who are not as interested.

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