stitched with love…

Long after my grandmother, “Mymommy”, passed I away, I came into possession of her beloved cedar chest. It always sat at the foot of her bed when I was a child. Occasionally, she would open it and the room was filled with the faint scent of the fragrant cedar as she lifted out the items inside. Even then, it was filled with special quilts, crocheted pieces and keepsakes she cherished. And it still is. What a chest of treasures!

Mymommy was a sewer, but mostly out of necessity. Having grown up poor and raised a family during the Great Depression (and the Dust Bowl era), she made most of her own clothes; then, she helped my mother make many little dresses for me and my sister when we were little. She crocheted tirelessly and shared that skill with me, teaching me patiently as we watched their old black & white television in the evenings.

Mostly, though, she was also a quilter extraordinaire! I remember her giant quilt frame suspended from hooks in the ceiling in their old rock house. Scraps of fabric from old dresses and household linens, probably even feed or grain sacks, were transformed into works of art beneath her deft and nimble fingers. It was like magic to see her piece together odds and ends and turn them into something both useful and beautiful. So, in a sense, she was an artist…

From what I gather, this first example of her work was pieced together as a joint project between my grandmother, a couple of her sisters and some friends. Maybe neighbors or ladies in their church? I don’t recognize most of the names, but I do see blocks embroidered with Mymommy’s name (Ada), my aunt (Baby Dorothy), and even a square with Grandad’s name (Hubert) on there.

A couple of the blocks have dates from May, 1930 embroidered beneath the sewer’s name. This quilt is over 90 years old! Just imagine those ladies, sitting together and creating such a thing of beauty at the height of The Great Depression.

I know that my grandparents lived in a house with no electricity at that time, so her piecing was done on an old treadle sewing machine or by hand. When it grew dark outside, did she work by the light of an oil lamp? So many questions come to mind now as I study her work and reflect on her life. Oh, to have just one more day to simply sit and visit with her again, to hear her stories of the life she led.

I see my grandmother’s artistic creativity in this “crazy quilt”, stitched from taffeta and satiny fabric scraps. All of the shapes are irregular, yet pieced together perfectly and individually outlined with beautiful handstitching. The backing is blush taffeta and there is the exquisite detail of ruffled binding.

The colors and texture are amazing! I can’t even imagine how she envisioned and brought to life the freeform design of this special quilt. Or how she came about finding all the scraps of fabric.

This was a fancy quilt, kept put away in the cedar chest. For every day use, there were sturdy cotton quilts in more familiar patterns and designs. Like this one…

This lovely was used by yours truly for many years as a “decorative” quilt, hung on a wall or from a wooden rack back in the 80’s and 90’s, to brighten up a room when I needed a lot of POP for no money. It was the first quilt I received from my grandmother, long before the cedar chest came to me. Fear of it being damaged – and a change of decorating style – led me to store this one away with the others in the chest, though.

I confess, I rarely get into the cedar chest, as it sits over to one side of the bedroom and serves as a TV stand for the most part. This past weekend, though, I decided to open it up and go through it, piece by piece. What I found were these and other handmade treasures that brought back so many memories and filled my heart to overflowing. These were truly creations of Love, made by a very gifted and talented woman! Well done, Mymommy, well done – your creations endure and still bring joy! I know you would be tickled and proud to see your quilts still being shared.