A month of beginnings. Much like September, April ushers in the next season, the warm weather season. For Sewtopia that means the quilt collection comes out, is aired, then returned to its storage cover.
When I do this I am reminded of the two ladies who pieced the quilts during Summer after their daily housework and gardening. After Christmas, the quilt frame was assembled in the living room and the long Winter was dedicated to hand quilting each one. In the past I have mentioned how surprised I was to find several quilts, in the attic, wrapped and labeled as to when it was made and the intended recipient. The collection is now here, a few were gifted, but largely the collection is carefully used and cared for. I have made muslin cases for each, I have even used mismatched pillow cases for coverings. Mostly I try to roll them but others are folded. I am thrilled to have them, husband does not understand my attachment to them. They were his grandmothers and aunts work but as a non-quilter the connection is lost on him.
Most of these early quilts were scrap quilts. Made from clothing, fabric donated by friends, and sometimes even used sheets and cotton curtains. These dear ladies (my MIL's mother and sister) survived early poverty, the depression, and struggles as many did during that time. Even when living a much different life, their frugal habits remained. In later years they actually designed and bought fabric specifically for the quilts. The first quilt above was one of those, the second a scrap pieced cover.
- I hope your Easter and Passover celebrations were joyous. It is the traditions of our culture that define us and maintain our structure.
- Life here seems to evolve around doctor appointments. Husband will have more surgery, here we go again.
- I managed to sort out some cross stitch patterns and pull some threads to make up a project bag. I will have a very long day when he has his surgery. I need to have busy hands.
- Do you keep a record of your needlework? In the online stitching world the process is termed "The Book of Days." From what I gather, each stitcher simply records what creative progress she/he has made that day. I have been doing this for years, well decades. It was an incentive for me. I am glad that a legacy is being created for and by each person. In the future, these statements will be much more like the little pieces of paper I found in the attic on Grandview Ave.
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