My great-grandmother's quilts arrived yesterday. That was pretty smooth sailing, from mailing them in Jacksonville a week ago to receiving them here. I thought they might get held up in customs or otherwise snail-crawl their way to my door, but no. The postal service came through.
Some of you asked to see them, so here they are. There are two quilts in the photo above. The one on the left with the star-shaped designs we seldom used, so it's still in pretty good shape -- I've turned part of it over so you can see the red flowery back. (I blogged this quilt once before.) The one on the right, with the diamond shapes, my mom used regularly in the winters, and as a result it's looking pretty shaggy. The backside is plain white, with a tattered pink floral trim around the edges.
See how the fabric in this one diamond has utterly deteriorated? There are a couple of places like that. But oh well. We'll just keep on using it.
When my brother and I were kids we used to sleep under this quilt sometimes, or use it on the couch when we were sick and watching TV. A quilt is mesmerizing for a child, offering an opportunity to examine and compare all the different fabric designs. I remember them well. We used to especially like this one:
Can you see the little airplanes?
I have no idea where my great-grandmother got the fabric for these quilts. I think they're probably made out of old house dresses and who knows what else. I believe she made them in the '50s, though I'm not sure. They're each big enough for a queen-sized bed.
Anyway, it's good to have them here and now I can stop thinking about them!
Incidentally, I had a weird dream about them last night. I dreamed I was folding them to put them away in a closet and I discovered the one with the star shapes had a tag that said "Planned Parenthood," like it was a promotional gift from the charity. In other words, like my great-grandmother didn't make it at all. Perhaps that was my way of questioning whether it was really worth it to mail them across the ocean!
Absolute treasures. The dream was a reminder of how enlightened and altruistic your great-grandmother was. She made the quilt to raise money for Planned Parenthood.
ReplyDeleteWell, what happens to them when you go? Do you think you will one day return to live in the US?
ReplyDeleteLovely work and memories
ReplyDeleteThey are absolutely lovely, look after them well.
ReplyDeleteI've inherited quite a number of quilts over the last handful of years and they all share the same thing in common. Despite being light used and mostly stored away, they have deteriorated anyway. The local quilting club, of which my MIL is a member, has stabilized one of the worst, but we have made a conscientious decision to just use and enjoy them while they are around.
ReplyDeleteThose quilts are beautiful. We have some of my mother-in-laws. She quilted very plain functional quilts, no intricate patterns, but still, the quilts remind me of her. A simple woman who worked hard and tried her best to create beauty with what she had at hand.
ReplyDeleteIt never fails to surprise me how quickly mail gets to you over there. I ordered something for my daughter and her husband for their anniversary. I ordered ahead of time and the craftsman said he would send it out at the proper time. He did not send it out until 4 days before their anniversary. I was a bit concerned...but it got to their front door the very next morning.
When I was a child we had a "crazy quilt" made up of hundreds of pieces in no pattern. It used on our beds when we were sick and could spend hours finding matching pieces. I wonder what happened to it, it was pretty thread bare at the time.
ReplyDeleteCheers
They're similar to the quilts on my childhood bed. I believe that distinctive texture that's not available today was flour sack material. It came in all kinds of prints, and after the flour was gone, the sacks were picked apart and used for girls' dresses and quilts.
ReplyDeleteGlen's grandmother must have made hundreds of quilts in her life- very much like these. All beautiful. But yes, cloth does eventually fall apart, even though the stitches stay. My advice would be not to wash them if you can avoid it.
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful.
I rather like the well-worn quilt because it seems to have cozy already built-in.
ReplyDeleteMaking quilts is something that men can do as well as women. It's just a thought but perhaps you yourself would like to carry on the family tradition by creating your own quilt this winter. Some fabric craft shops run basic quilting courses. I believe you could do it - after all, it's in the blood.
ReplyDeleteOh I love them! We have one that Mike's grandmother made & it has all of these weird polyester pieces in it - makes me laugh. I need to dig that thing out - it was COLD last night!
ReplyDeleteI love those quilts! All the loving stitches that went into making those. I like how you have memories of you and your brother using that quilt when you were sick on the couch! How lucky you are to have them now. Your great-grandmother did beautiful work on these!
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful quilts. True treasures.
ReplyDeleteThese are wonderful. They remind me of quilts my grandmother had when I was a kid. In fact, I can almost smell what they smelled like. My grandmother stored them in a pantry and they picked up a sort of clean, waxy smell.
ReplyDeleteThey are beautiful. You are lucky to have something from your great grandmother. The one quilt with the worn through fabric can be repaired.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.quiltersreview.com/repair-old-quilt/
I'm very glad you did ship them. I hope you use them as throws or on the bed. They're lovely hand stitching.
ReplyDeleteThey're wonderful and I think you did exactly the right thing in shipping them home. You will enjoy using them. I have several my great-grandmothers made. When I was young I used several of them, but in recent years they've been put away.
ReplyDeleteI love the print with the planes. Don't you wonder where that fabric came from?!
We have an old quilt from Jim's side of the family. The thread is vanishing. I keep thinking I should do something about this, but I'm not sure what.
ReplyDeleteThe quilts are wonderful pieces of your family history, and the stories and memories behind them even more precious.
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing us the photos of those beautifully made quilts. I love the little planes!
ReplyDeleteThe quilts are beautiful, good of you to acquire and use them.
ReplyDeleteIt was definitely worth it to mail them across the ocean. I have several quilts my great aunt made that are worn like that, with some of the fabrics disintegrated.
ReplyDeleteAt first I thought "shaggy? What's he talking about it looks fine" then I saw the close up. I think you should search around for a quilter who could replace or cover those damaged squares and give the quilt a lot of extra years.
ReplyDeleteThey are both very lovely.
River's suggestion is a valid one.
ReplyDeleteThere will be quilting groups near you..and they would love to see the quilts
Mitchell: I wonder how my great-grandmother would feel about Planned Parenthood?!
ReplyDeleteAndrew: Who knows? But if we go back we'd take them with us.
GZ: She did do a good job.
Sabine: I plan to!
Ed: I suppose it's inevitable. Nothing lasts forever, particularly if it's being used.
Debby: Well, I wouldn't say the mail ALWAYS works that way, but overall, yes, it seems pretty dependable.
Peter: I've heard "crazy quilt" as an adjective, but never actually saw a crazy quilt.
Lynn Marie: They could well be flour sacks or sugar sacks, assuming they came in patterns like that.
Ms Moon: I wonder how many my great-grandmother made. Surely more than these.
Bob: I agree! The wear makes it more approachable and cuddly.
YP: I am not seeing that happening! I can sew on a button or fix a tear, but I'm not about to make something like a quilt!
Bug: In a way, they're a portrait of fashions at the time they were made! I don't think any of these are polyester, though. Looks like she only used cotton, or maybe a blend.
Ellen D: Yeah, the memory makes them more special.
Robin: I agree!
Sharon: Funny! These smell like nice detergent, probably from the last time they were washed.
Pixie: I wondered about that! I'm not likely to do it myself but maybe I'll have it fixed one of these days.
Boud: Yeah, I think we'll use them! But maybe not with the dog around...
Kelly: I do! I can't imagine what would have little airplanes printed on it. A piece of child's clothing, maybe?
Allison: Well, as Pixie said, I think repair is sometimes an option. I bet if you found someone nearby who was a quilter they might appreciate the challenge!
Margaret: I'm glad to have them, on both counts.
Wilma: Aren't they a hoot? So unusual.
Jim: I'm glad to have them!
Ellen: I guess it's a sign they've been well-loved.
River: And that's just one square. There are numerous "shaggy" places, including all around the edges.
GZ: I'm not opposed to having them fixed, but I feel like it's going to be pretty low on my priority list.
My grandparents used pregnancy as a means of birth control, I think. 13 pregnancies in 18 years. 6 of them miscarriages. Until child number 7 who was born 9 years after the last one, the other 6 were each just under 2 years apart.
ReplyDeleteLovely x
ReplyDeleteI collect old quilts and the ones with stories behind them, like yours, are my favorites. These are just beautiful and I'm so glad you have them.
ReplyDelete