Remember the postage stamp quilt I’ve been working on forever? It is done! Pieced and quilted by little old me! I believe all quilts have a story to tell. Some are short and sweet, and some are a bit longer. Bear with me, this one is one of the latter!
Before quilting:
After quilting:
I quilted it in organic wavy lines. That’s a “new” method I’ve learned from some of the younger quilt audience. I figure “organic” means unplanned, maybe even a little messy. Well, my lines are a little more organic than most!
This quilt is so much more than a quilt to me. It’s one that will stay with me forever. It started from a box of 1 1/2″ squares sent to me by a cousin when her mother, my Great-Aunt Norma died. Now, I’d only met my aunt once in my life, so you may be wondering how I came to inherit something from her. Well, she is my quilting muse, I guess you could say.
When I was thirteen, my family took a vacation to Utah and Idaho to visit relatives. One of those relatives was my Aunt Norma. She lived in a beautifully kept up old house, and every closet and spare cupboard was filled with gorgeous quilts! I knew right then that this is what I wanted to do!
Now, my mother was a professional seamstress, as I think I’ve mentioned before, but she didn’t quilt. When we came home, I asked her to help me make a quilt. So she took me to the store and we bought two sheets and some batting. We then pulled out the quilting frames, (four 2x4s and clamps), put the sheets on and proceeded to tie it. I don’t remember what I said, but I do remember thinking this was not what I meant!
Fast forward to Texas, a husband, baby, and a wonderful bunch of quilting friends! One of those friends was an award-winning quilter, (yeah, one of those!), and she taught us all the steps of making a quilt. She even helped me individually to make a baby quilt.
Shortly after this, I started corresponding with my Aunt Norma because I really wanted to make a double wedding ring quilt, and I thought she could help. (I’m not sure why I didn’t just ask my award-winning friend!). This started a five or six year period of letter writing between us. (This was in the ancient past: before the internet and email!) She always encouraged me. Anyway, when she died, her daughter knew about our letter writing and thoughtfully sent me a box of quilty treasures.
This box is after I started adding my own squares to the collection:
She also sent a few other things. The box of orphan blocks were orphans for a reason!
And a gingham filled box of cross-stitched State blocks.
Back to the postage stamp quilt. Shortly after receiving this box, I began my quilt. I needed way more neutral squares, so I started cutting 1 1/2″ squares from my own scraps. I sewed them into rows of twelve, kind of as a leader-ender project. When I had enough to build a 12 inch block, I would sew them up. It took 15 or so years to do get enough to actually put together.
Can you guess what happened when I tried? 15 years meant lots of experience with learning a quarter inch seam, also a new and better sewing machine. The blocks were different sizes! Aack! What to do? Well, if you look too closely at my photos, you will see what I did. I made them fit. And I didn’t worry too much about matching all those seams. This quilt is about the memories and the fabric. I am in no way worried about perfection here.
Someday I may even sew those gingham blocks together! What about you? What’s your quilting story? Do you have anyone that helped you on your way?
