While I was visiting my Grama a few weeks ago, my mom pulled a quilt out of the cedar chest (I know! wrong on so many levels).
Huh?
A quilt? Huh? I really was confused because my Grama is a not a quilt person. She enjoys the one I gave her, but she doesn’t want more. I have no idea why I have never seen this quilt before.
Apparently, my sister has known about this quilt for awhile and always uses it when she sleeps over at Grama’s.
This quilt is referred to as Grandma Betty’s quilt. Grandma Betty was a woman who drove out to California from Chicago with my Grama, her brother (Uncle Gene), their father (Grandpa George, yes I knew him) and Grandma Betty’s daughter. I am not sure who drove, but Grandma Betty owned the car. I’ll have to ask Grama more about that trip.
This is the first time I have heard this story and was amazed. The quilt is in terrible condition, but has a lovely soft look and feel to it.
If my quilts look like this in 70 years, I will be happy. It means they were loved.
What a wonderful find! I hope you are able to track down the back story and document it.
DD took a quilt to college with her, one of the very few from my early quilting days, perhaps the first finished quilt I made. It was a braid variation, made with random (!) scraps, muslin and I used a poly batt, probably for money reasons. She has well used the quilt, and it has so many worn spots (read holes). I cannot blame her use, I blame the poor quality fabric I used, also the bat has disappeared altogether.
I keep offering to repair it, but she won’t let me even speak of it, says it holds too many memories this way. I may resort the the mom trick I learned when she was a tot, offer her something more tempting, – another quilt perhaps?
Her friend who received a grad quilt from me looks at dd’s quilt longingly and asks how long before her new one is as well loved. I assume it will be loved well, and knowing the quality of fabric and batt used, it will be loved long as well.
A pox on your sister for not sharing her knowledge of the quilt with you, LOL! What a great set of stories behind this quilt. I’m sure you’ll enjoy finding out more about it!