"I Remember Laura" - Quilts

"Laura brought her Dove-in-the-Window quilt that she had pieced as a little girl while Mary pieced a nine-patch. It had been kept carefully all the years since then." --These Happy Golden Years

I grew up with quilts. Not necessarily the lovely works of art that you see at fairs and exhibits these days, but practical, made-from-leftover-fabric-scraps, use-every-day quilts. Since the theme this week for the "I Remember Laura" blog-a-thon is quilts, I wanted to show you some of the quilts I have that have special memories for me.

This first quilt was made for me by one of my great-grandmothers. "Mother Shumaker" was my mother's maternal grandmother. She loved to make things for all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and sent us little hand-made Christmas gifts every year... perhaps an apron or a pot-holder or a handkerchief. Then one year she made quilt tops for my siblings and me. This was in the 1970s when double-knit polyester was the fabric of choice... so my quilt is "nice" and heavy. Not exactly what you're looking for in a "vintage" quilt, but at least the pattern and colors are pretty, and I treasure it because Mother Shumaker made it for me.

This is a picture of my bedroom, circa 1979, right after my quilt was finished. Here is a picture of the same quilt that I just took this week. It has been retired from use, as the seams are coming apart. (I am persuaded that the fabric will last forever!) I do intend to repair it, but haven't gotten around to it yet.
Does anyone know what the name of this pattern is? As far as I know, it's just a Six Point Star.

I have another special polyester double-knit quilt, too! This one makes no claims whatsoever to being pretty. When I was in high school my mother's paternal grandmother came and stayed with us for several weeks. "Granny" was in her 90s by then and blind. She could still piece quilts, but only simple squares and someone else had to cut the blocks and arrange the colors for her. Oh, and thread her needles! She also worked best with heavy fabrics, so even though polyester was on it's way out by this time (early 1980s), Mother decided this would be the perfect use for her leftover sewing scraps. So we cut squares for Granny and thread needles by the dozen, and she stitched happily away while my siblings and I were in school. She made each of us a quilt top during that visit.
No. It's not beautiful. However, I have always enjoyed and appreciated it because of the memories and love stitched into it. I do still have it, and it has proved to be very warm and serviceable over the years, but I'll spare you having to look at it again by not posting a current picture! LOL!

Mother Shumaker passed away at age 90 when I was 16. It was the year before I graduated from high school and she was in the process of making a Friendship quilt for my graduation when she got sick. She had finished the blocks but hadn't set them together yet. Several years later my grandmother (Mother Shumaker's daughter) finished it. Rather than putting the names of my classmates on it, since it was several years after my graduation, we put the names of Grandmother's grandchildren on it. I've haven't stayed in touch with my classmates, but I do stay in touch with my cousins, so that makes it more meaningful to me. I had been married several years by the time I finally got this quilt, so it hasn't been used as much as some of the others.My favorite quilt pattern is the Wedding Ring, so that's what Grandmother made me for graduation. I loved this quilt and used it for a bedspread when I went away to college. It has been well-used over the years, and the fabric hasn't held up as well as the never-wear-out polyester, so this one has also been retired from use. I usually just keep it on my quilt rack to look at.Each of the quilts I've shown you so far were made for me. But the prettiest quilt I have actually doesn't have quite as much sentimental value as my other quilts. It's older and is made of the old flour sack vintage fabrics, which I love looking at. I "inherited" it after Lyle's grandpa died, but no one seems to know who made it. I thought perhaps Grandpa's wife (Lyle's step-grandma) made it, but no, they say she didn't make quilts. So my theory is that probably someone made it for her, or passed it on to her, when she was young. Maybe her mother, or a sister, or aunt?In any case, I think it's beautiful. Such exquisite stitching and in the Wedding Ring pattern that I love.

I have other quilts... even some I've made myself, but these are the ones I treasure the most.