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This weekend I brought home two quilts from my parent's house that are family treasures. One was a Dresden plate pattern made by the ladies from the Marlin Presbyterian Church which our family attended as I was growing up. The second was a beautiful quilt that had been hand appliqued and hand quilted. The sad thing is, I have no idea who made it because it doesn't have a label on the back.
Was it another church quilt, did my Grandma Hattie make it or was it a gift to my parents from a friend or relative? I'm afraid my Mom may not be able to give me an answer when I visit her tomorrow because she suffers from dementia. Hopefully it will be a good day and she'll be able to solve the mystery for me.
I've learned two things this weekend. Number one, always put a label on your quilts. You never know who may find your beautiful treasure years from now and they will want to know the story behind the quilt. Number two, take the time to ask your family, your grandparents, your parents, to share their stories and write them down. With my Dad and my brother both gone, I find myself trying to piece together the blanks in my family history by going through photo albums and visits with my Mom. It's important to me to be able to share those stories with my children and grandchildren.
After finding this beauty this weekend, my goal is to make a hand quilted treasure filled with love for each of my grandchildren. And yes...they will have labels on them!
Happy Quilting!
Juli
Update: I originally posted this on our Facebook page earlier this week. Unfortunately, my Mom wasn't able to tell me who made the quilt or where it came from. I did get a suggestion from one friend to contact two ladies who may have some answers. Another friend shared that her grandmother would stitch names and messages on the quilts she made for her family. My neighbor Mary, who was up with her husband spending a few days on their farm, brought by three family quilt treasures for me to see. While they were all special, one in particular caught my attention. It was a quilt top made with ABC blocks that her mother had drawn the alphabet pictures when she was young. The blocks on this quilt top had been colored and embroidered. The quilts Mary, her mom, and grandma made for her brothers had no coloring, just embroidery. Thank you, Mary, for allowing me to take your family treasures to our next quilt guild meeting to share with the ladies.
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