My paternal grandmother quilted. Most were done by hand, some were sewn on her old Singer. I remember her teaching me to sew on that machine. It was activated by a side bar you pushed with your knee to make the machine run.
I remember helping Mamaw cut out squares, triangles, hexagons and other shapes. I think her favorite were tiny 1 inch squares. The pieces are all hand cut with scissors, not fancy quilt rulers, rotary cutters, etc.
butterfly quilt made for me
Many of her quilt pieces were hand sewn. Some were machine sewn. I remember hand sewing squares into strips. All of the quilts Mamaw made were meant to be used on a regular basis. They weren’t meant for “show” but use, even the fancy ones. Living through the Great Depression Mamaw was a firm believer in using something until it was totally worn out. Most of her quilts had old blankets or quilts inside for the batting.
As the “Keeper of the Family History” (fancy way of saying sentimental pack-rat) I inherited quite a few of Mamaw’s quilt tops. I am not quite sure what I want to do with them. I would love to have them hand finished but that is expensive. I have gotten some information about people and companies who do that sort of thing. Robin, Sunbonnet Smart, had kindly provided some references for me about this. She is a great quilt resource if any of you are into quilting.
My plan is to have the small quilt top professionally framed and hung in the front entryway. This is one of the 1 inch square quilt tops that is hand sewn. At my parents house is a large double bed sized unfinished quilt top made of hand sewn 1 inch squares. Robin called it a Postage Stamp quilt.
For now these beauties are living in my sewing room closet. One day I will be ready to part with them but not just yet.
