My grandmother Mildred (on my father's side) completely hand pieced (EPP) and quilted two quilts in the 1930's.
She made a grandmother's flower garden.
She also made a double wedding ring.
My great-grandmother Ethel (on my mom's side) brought in money by doing sewing for others when she was a widow. She had a sewing machine and even sewed some quilts. This is a quilt I finished using blocks she sewed.
These are some pillow cases she sewed and hand embroidered.
My other grandma Mildred (on my mom's side) made a lot of blankets and quilts. This is a close-up of the wedding quilt she made for my mom and dad. The rest of the quilt is in shreds.
This is a baby blanket she painted and hand quilted for me. She did a lot of textile painting. It is something she will always be remembered for.
Although my mother helped her mom with projects and did mending and sewing, she never made a quilt until my oldest brother got married. It was a peach and blue trip around the world. She made it using Plexiglas templates and scissors. She machine pieced and hand quilted it. The quilting took her three years. Once she finished it she had caught the quilting bug. She started this one for herself about the same time in dusty pinks and blues. I machine quilted it for her later.
After she finished her first quilt, she decided to teach me how to quilt. Luckily, she had learned about rotary cutters by then! This is my first block. The note you see is written in my young handwriting. It says, "My first quilt block I ever did. Roman Squares." (There will be more on this project in my next post.) I have now been quilting for over 20 years. That sounds a lot longer than it feels!
My mom and I are the ones who quilt the most in the family. Two of my sisters have made a couple of quilts each. Now my mom and I are teaching the next generation. We have been teaching my nieces together. I have also helped Cheetah make his first quilt. He calls it Fuzzy Cheetah. Can you see all those spots? He wants to make a cheetah bag next.
Do others in your family quilt, or are you the only one?
XX,
Jasmine
My dad's mom was a quilter, probably out of necessity. I have four quilts she made, one needs to be quilted. They are all scrappy and I cherish them. I taught my DIL to make quilts and 3 of 4 of our grand girls have all made quilts and have shown them at the county/state fairs. Loved reading your quilting story.
ReplyDeleteI am the first quilter in 4 generations, though the women in my family all "do" textiles in one form or another. I've been a quilt teacher in Geneva, Switzerland, for nearly 18 years now. (Wow. That also doesn't seem as long as it is when I say it-lol). You have lovely boys! I have 2 boys & a girl and my house is often a bit like a zoo too. Welcome to the Quilt Blog Neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteOh, that is a rich and wonderful history, Jasmine! I love that you are passing down the knowledge by teaching your son and nieces, too. I am so impressed by how hard previous generations had to work to make these practical items, and I feel so lucky to have a small piece of that to pass on, too.
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