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DKos Quilt Guild: Heirloom Quilts [1]

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Date: 2023-05-07

Hand me down unfinished blocks

Since I haven’t been accomplishing much in my sewing room, though I am back to piecing another quilt top this week, I thought I might turn to the past to share some of the family quilts that have come down to me over generations. But first…

DK Quilt Guild: A place for quilters to gather, share ideas, projects, and to make the world a better place, one quilt at a time. Join us and share your thoughts, projects, questions, and tips. Quilters here are at many different levels of skill. Beginners and non-quilters are welcome, too.

We NEED diarists!

Your diary can be elaborate and full of photos, a simple story of your own quilting history or that of someone you love, a discussion of a current project or a technique you're learning, new adventures... You could post quilt retreat-day recipes (things like crockpot meals, so food appears without much attention from you)…

We could do show and tell or open thread, also, but either way, we need diarists to host. It is EASY if you're willing to take the chance.

Diary Schedule

5/14/23 — OPEN

5/21/23 — OPEN

5/28/23 — OPEN

I’ll start with my Grandma Great Bond (dad’s side of the family). The quilt uses what we called “Grandma’s Garden” blocks but is also called “Grandmother’s Flower Garden”.

Grandma’s Garden

This english paper piecing pattern came down from her mother who had immigrated from England in the 1860s. Grandma Great was a lifelong quilter, it’s kind of what a woman did living on the homestead in the panhandle of Oklahoma.

Here’s a newspaper article from Herald-Democrat (Beaver, OK) dated July 4. 1933:

Progressive Home Makers Club The Progressive Home Makers club met July 25 with Mrs. Veva Keyworth [my grandma] and quilted on a star quilt. There were nine members and eight visitors present. A covered dish luncheon was served at noon which all enjoyed. We adjourned to meet July 9 with Mrs. Effie White [great-aunt].

This quilt was probably made in the late 50s. You can tell it is made to be used. Fabrics came from scraps from sewing clothes for the kids. She may not have been working toward perfection, but when there was time, she would pick a few more pieces to put together. And when the top was complete, the club would come together to do the quilting.

When I lived with my grandma as a teenager, she pulled out some of her mother’s unfinished quilt blocks and pieces and had me start practicing english paper piecing. I think she hoped that I would someday complete the quilt. It would be impossible to put old fragile fabrics with modern cottons. So I have carefully put it away for doing something with it someday. More likely another decision my daughter will have to make. Note the flour sack fabrics.

Great-Grandma Gill (mom’s family) made this quilt using Broken Dishes blocks. This is from the 1940s and once again a great example of a utilitarian quilt made with the fabrics on hand. I’m sure my mom could have told you the blocks that were made out of her dresses.

Broken Dishes

She was a part of a church ladies quilting group. The hand quilting has a straightforward pattern that makes it easy for the ladies to finish and get on with the next one.

This one is special… Great Great Aunt Eva made this quilt for mom as a wedding gift in 1950. The pattern is Doves in the Window.

Doves in the Window

What amazes me about this quilt is that I think it was machine quilted. How on earth she managed to wrestle that on a 1940s Singer sewing machine is a mystery.

My Mom and I used to laugh at how our foremothers would roll over in their graves if they knew we bought perfectly good, new fabric just to cut up for quilts.

Yellow Brick Road

This is one Mom enjoyed so much that she made three: one green, one yellow and one pink. Pattern is Yellow Brick Road and fabric is Wizard of Oz. Mom had a great sense of humor…

Well, that’s way longer than I anticipated… I hope you managed to make it to the end. Either way, I’ll see you in the comments. Hope you enjoy!

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