Quilts from Many Generations

I had the pleasure of coordinating an exhibit of family quilts for our guild quilt show, which ended today. We presented a program about those quilts yesterday morning.

Several members brought quilts that spanned 4 generations. Sammie Messick contributed quilts made by herself, her mother, her grandmother and her greatgrandmother. Sammie and her mother Ella McNatt (age 90) attend the evening guild regularly and sit right up front. They work in vivid colors, Ella's Icicles quilt is shown.

Rosie Grinstead brought 3 splendid vintage quilts. Two had the maker's (her greatgrandmothers) photo and obituary on the back. The other was my sentimental favorite. It was Rosie's baby quilt that she finished herself when she was pregnant with her daughter. I love the letters, they spell Rose Alice.

 Linda Frost brought quilts made by her great-great grandmother and her great grandmother, her grandmother, her mother, her daughter, and herself. She brought several polyester items too, one an awesome polyester scrap rug. Her worn little baby quilt might have elicited the most response. She mentioned her family had used quilts like that up, as cushions for bed springs, for packing. I loved the quilt her daughter Kayla made when she was little.

Barb Lynch talked about a prized family possession, this quilt “never used on a bed”, with quilting pencil marks still showing. The crowd was especially charmed by a quilt she helped her little granddaughter make for her stuffed pet Fluffy.



 And Betsy Weaver proudly showed quilts made by her Hoosier great-grandmother in the mid 1800s. A white whole cloth quilt with no batting featured the tiniest quilt stitches (18 per inch) and an incredible eagle design.

I think we all enjoyed it.