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

Post from: Blisstree

If Your Quilt Could Tell a Story

My daughter has a sketch book, about 8 1/2 x 11-inches in which she sketches ideas for quilts.  Perhaps she sees a flower that strikes her fancy.  Or she may have some interesting fabric, so she plays with ideas in the sketch book.  Perhaps she acquires some embellishments.  What should I do with these? might be answered through sketching.

I have a Trails End Quilters notebook where I jot down ideas for my quilting heritage series.  I don’t know yet just what I’m going to do with this information, yet I find my ancestors fascinating, whether they’re involved in quilting or their daily lives.  I’m trying to discover the stories behind them. (I also have a blog where explore these ideas: http://trailsendquilters.blogspot.com/ )

Perhaps you keep a journal in which you record the quilts you own and/or those you’ve made. You might have a travel journal in which you tell about quilts you’ve discovered in your travels.  You could keep a notebook of the quilters you meet and how they influence your quilting life.

There are so many possibilities for quilter’s notebooks and journals.  What will yours be?

These are a couple of quilt journal ideas you can choose from.  Or you can use a plain sketchbook or notebook.  Perhaps design/decorate the cover of one with your own ideas. 

Post from: Blisstree

Keep Your Quilter’s Notebook Handy

My grandmother, Emma Tipple, who taught me quiltmaking when I was 8 years old, married Burton Coon in the early 1900s and lived the rest of her life on the farm.  As my daughter and granddaughter have taken up quiltmaking and fabric art, I began to realize we came from a family of quilters...if they didn’t quilt, they encouraged us to quilt and enjoy quilt history.

My grandfather wrote about his mother quilting with her friends.  My mother saved a letter from a cousin who wrote about quiltmaking when she was 6 years old.

Stories are evolving, patterns are coming to light, and my quilting ancestors have become more real to me.  On my family blog, I share some of the “Tales of the Trails End Quilters” (http://trailsendquilters.blogspot.com ).  So now I’m putting together an album about these ladies and their lives.

Do you have quilting stories to share….with your family and other quilters? They don’t have to be about ancestors, although they can be.  Simply start writing about your quilting experiences, as my daughter does on her blog (http://meanderingthreads.blogspot.com) or in a notebook or album.  And you’ll start own heritage for future generations.

Post from: Blisstree

My Trails End Quilters Album

Some novels may have a short scene involving quilting, as I’m doing in my middle reader novel, Papa Goes to War, set in the Civil War era and based loosely on my family history. The story may be about something else, but a making a quilt might weave itself into the activity.

Numerous picture books for children revolve around a quilting theme. Many seem to take place in pioneer times and the Civil War era.

Can you write a quilting story? 

It may simply be a collection of essays about the importance of quilting in your life.  Or you may decide to use some aspect of quilting and patchwork, or modern fabric art as the driving force in your fiction story or book.

You also might incorporate family quilting stories in a scrapbook, using these artistic techniques to enhance the work.  You could develop a journal of the quilts you’ve made in your life, including a photo or sketch with the inspiration that caused you to make it.

I’d enjoy hearing about how you develop a quilting story…one you never imagined you could write…but decided to try after reading this blog.

Perhaps by stitching together bits of your quilting life, you can tell stories as Helen Kelley does in Every Quilt Tells a Story.  What are the stories of the quilts and quilters in your life?

Post from: Blisstree

Can You Write a Quilting Story?