Monday, August 31, 2009

Mom's first quilt


This is my mom's first quilt.


When Mom was 4 years old (in 1937) she would go to a quilting bee at church with her mom and grandma. She was the only child there and she would play under the quilt frame while the ladies quilted. At some point some of the ladies decided that this little 4 year old should learn to hand piece so they started cutting out squares for her and showing her how to put them together.

On the day Mom turned 5 (which was also her grandma's birthday --March 9, 1938) the ladies had another quilting bee and quilted this quilt. It has a variety of different quilting stitches in it. You can see the ones that were put there by a 5 year old and also the stitches that were made by the more experienced quilters. I love it because I know my mom, my grandma and my great grandma all worked on it together. Several years ago after it had been used and loved a lot, Mom decided she should put it away so it wouldn't get any more worn out. It's in remarkable shape for a quilt that's 71 years old and has been used a lot.
My sister decided to display the quilt at Mom's funeral along with several other quilts she had made. I didn't think this one was her first quilt, but after searching high and low we couldn't find another one, so I'm convinced this is the one. I hadn't seen it in a while and had forgotten the colors. After the funeral I got to bring it home with me. Thank you sister and brothers for letting me have it. I will cherish it as long as I live.

3 comments:

ranette said...

Teresa...what a wonderful treasure to have. It's a beautiful quilt and can you imagine sewing at 4 years old? Amazing!

Anonymous said...

What a treasure!

Anonymous said...

We all know you could enjoy Mom's quilt far more than any of us.
Greta