If Your Quilt Could Tell a Story

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com 

 If your quilt could tell a story, what would it say? I think of the quilt I call, The Wedding Quilt.  I recall it always lying on the bed in the guest room of our farmhouse.  I can visualize one day, as Mother, Sister and I cleaned the room and made the bed for a visit from my aunt and uncle. 

Mother had aired the quilt on the clothes line on the south side of the house and now was folding it to place at the foot of the bed.  I don’t know if Sister or I asked a question or Mother was reminiscing.  However, she related that this quilt was one Father and she received as a wedding gift about 10 years before.

She probably told us who gave it to them, but now I don’t recall.  I hope someday that information will come forth from my subconscience.  Then I could better piece a story together.

If the quilt could talk, it might tell:

• Who made it.
• Where the various fabrics came from.
•  Who selected the pattern for the quilt.
• Did more than one lady sew and quilt it?  There were many fine stitches so it took quite some time.
• What did the quilters say as they worked on it.  Everything was made by hand, not by sewing machine.
• Does it recall Mother’s pleasure when she received it?  She must have treasured The Wedding Quilt because she placed it on the guest bed where it was used occasionally, not every day.

When I had to move Mother to my home after she developed Alzheimer’s, I found the quilt, now tattered and worn, midst a pile of old papers and rags, in a closet.  It also had been damaged by mice who must have liked the fabric and batting.

However, I’ve been able to salvage pieces of it and now am wondering what to do with them.  I also wish the quilt could talk and tell me stories of its origin.

What stories do your quilts tell?   With those you make, you’ll recall when, where and why you made them. 

Why not write these stories down?  So you’ll leave a legacy and future generations won’t be left to wonder.

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen