My Grandma sewed all the time. She loved and enjoyed it. Her liking to sew was a bonus because it sure was helpful to our family. She made clothes for us. She made quilts, pillows, sheets & pillow cases, rag rugs for our cold floor, and after we wore those things out she patched and mended them for us to use again. She made the most beautiful crocheted doilies you ever saw and made scarves with beautiful embroidery pattern on them. If she made my Mamma and me a dress she put in a wide hem on mine. I grew so fast that hem was let down many times to accommodate my long legs.
Since my Grandma loved to sew so much she wanted me to do it too. That just was not my thing then or now. It just never caught on to me. Mending and button sewing is my limit.
Grandma was passionate about me making a quilt and I just kept refusing to try. I guess my brain finally kicked in to the fact that this would make my Grandma very happy and I finally agreed to make a quilt.
First thing we did was gather up all the scraps we could to cut the blocks from. Grandma cut them out that first day and she talked to me as she cut. Most of the pieces I knew as my families clothes. Grandma and I talked about each piece. I outgrew this and Norman completely tore this up past mending. Your Mamma wore this when, Whatever, this is my old dress, and this is your Daddies shirt. She told me that one day I would look at this quilt and remember this day and how my family had looked when they wore these original things. I didn't know or understand the significance of that then but I sure do now.
I think I was about eight when we first started this project. Grandma made the tiniest stitches and she wanted me to do the same. My stitches never got as neat or nice as Grandma's but they certainly improved with time as you can tell by examining the quilt now. It was a hard process that took to my teen years. Sometimes I got flustered and wanted to quit but the hurt look on my Grandma's face took care of that every time.
Now came the actual quilting. The quilt was put in the frame and stretched tight. First Grandma added the cotton on the backside and usually an old sheet on that and basted the outsides and down the middle. I tried to find a picture of the old quilting frames we used but could not. They were hung from the ceiling and let down to chair level when the quilting took place. As each area was done the quilt was rolled up to the next section and so on till you reached the last section. Someone was on each side of the quilt. Sometimes just My Mamma, My Grandma, and me but other times lots of ladies would be there for a quilting bee. When the last section came and only two could really quilt it was my Grandma and me who finished it. Next was the hemming and we did that together too.
Over the six or so years this project went on I learned a lot of values of what was important and what was not. I learned a lot about love, perseverance, and priories. And I learned that Family is so important to me. I learned respect and thankfulness like I may not have known before.
Yesterday I was putting some things in my cedar chest and there was that quilt all packed in a quilt bag and protected. It has never been used much and I felt Grandma right there beside me telling me not to give up, not to say I can't but say I'll try, Yes you can do it Clydene, You can do anything you want to do bad enough. I just got to thinking, here I am soon to be 66 years old and there is a piece of my history. That quit was started 58 years ago, can you imagine that? It was hard for me but I took that precious quilt out of it's protective cocoon and laid it out on my bed for all to see and touch. I examined all the little squares and remembered my family in them just like my Grandma told me I would. I cried and I laughed as I remembered all those days that my Grandma took her time with me and loved me enough to want this for me even though she can't be here to see it. Why did it take me almost 60 years to experience this? I don't really know but I do know I needed that yesterday. Thank You Grandma for all your love and sacrifice for me. I'll enjoy this quilt for a long time to come. I love You Grandma
