Over Labor Day weekend, I taught my dear friend, Lesley, how to quilt, or at least what I know about quilting. That took all of two days. I love that I learned to quilt in April, taught by one good friend and am already sharing what I know with another good friend.
The Zen of quilting. Quilting is such a wonderful womanly past time. It is so embedded in our feminine culture in the U.S. I used to think that quilting was old-lady work, done by women who had few choices in life but to sit at home and sew. And maybe that once was true, not the age part but the choice part. Today I celebrate that these women who had few opportunities outside their homes used their skills, vision and patience to make beautiful functional art to benefit family and friends.
Quilting is such a nurturing family thing too, and what better way to spend a life than to do the best you can by those you love? For generations, women made quilts for their families to stay warm under or to be sold for money to help feed their families. They gave gifted quilts to friends that they'd made with their own hands and time. These quilts were not made from brand new bolts of fabric purchased at Walmart or Jo-Anne's fabrics like many are today. They were made repurposing old curtains, sheets or clothing. Any scraps of fabrics that could be reused were kept and built into future quilts or other items of clothing. Not much got thrown away like it does today. Quilting makes the environmentalist in me happy. And as a woman with choices in life, I am glad that I can now celebrate skills such as quilting that have traditionally been woman's work.
A good problem to have. Both of Lesley's grandmothers were quilters, so she comes from good quilting genes and picked up on everything very quickly. And she has a good problem, especially as a new quilter. She has several quilt toppers that her grandmothers never finished. I'd learned from my quilting friend and teacher, Karen, that many quilters sew the toppers but never finish the process of sewing the batting and backing to them and then hand-stitching through the layers. You can sometimes find toppers at second hand stores or yard sales. If you are lucky enough to find them it saves you half the work, and as Karen says, she feels honored to finish the work that a "fore-mother" started. She wonders about their life, their thoughts, their goals and loves, as she finishes what they started. I like that idea too. Lesley pulled out pictures of her grandmothers and set them up on the buffet next to the table as we got started with the topper. We studied the pictures. We honored them with our efforts.
Getting supplies. Of the unfinished toppers, Lesley and I picked the one that looked the simplest as a starter project, a version of the nine block square. Then we went to Jo-Anne's Fabrics armed with discount coupons. Les picked out the backing, batting and other basic quilting supplies such as a rotary cutter, mat, quilting needles, quilting pins, thread and thimble. When we got back to her house, we began laying out the layers: backing, batting and topper, and pinning them together, using the backing as side hems.
Rebuilding a special quilt. While at Jo-Anne's, Les also selected and purchased batting, backing and quilting thread for me to rebuild one of her quilts that was very worn, torn and stained. This project morphed out of an offer I had made this past summer to make a memory quilt for Les when her father died.
Instead of a memory quilt, Lesley had asked me if I could repair a pink and white quilt that one of her grandmothers had made for her oldest child, her only daughter, when she was born. This daughter is now an adult and has a daughter of her own who is just starting middle school. Neither of them know about this secret quilt project, which is half the fun for me in accepting this project.
Rebuilding this quilt is such a labor of love for my friend and her family, and such a wonderful project celebrating motherhood, grandmothers...and yes, fathers and grandfathers. At my suggestion, Lesley kept a couple of her father's shirts which I am now using to rebuild parts of this quilt.
When I first examined the quilt, I saw that it was in very bad shape and would basically have to be rebuilt. The only parts that can be saved are the little girls with bonnets. Even with the little bonneted girls, a couple have to totally be remade and a couple more have to be partially remade. I am using the material from the two shirts of Lesley's dad to rebuild these little girls. Lesley's daughter was very close to her grandfather so she will cry when she sees this quilt finished. I know it. I am so happy to do something that will have such an impact.
Stretching and Obsessing, in a good way. This project is stretching my skills, a good thing. It is the perfect project because I feel comfortable to figure it out, knowing that Lesley has faith in me. I am no professional, but I am dedicated, excited about the project, and am finding that once I start a quilt, I am obsessed with finishing it. I find myself spending time thinking about it when I'm not actually working on it. This is the way I was when I sewed each of the five memory quilts for my sister's kids when she died. This is how I was when I sewed the two rag-denim quilts that I made, one for a niece and one for the top loft in our RV. And this is how I am with rebuilding the quilt for Lesley and her daughter. I think I will be finished long before winter is over. I could even, conceivably, be finished before we leave for Key West in mid October.
The Zen of quilting. Quilting is such a wonderful womanly past time. It is so embedded in our feminine culture in the U.S. I used to think that quilting was old-lady work, done by women who had few choices in life but to sit at home and sew. And maybe that once was true, not the age part but the choice part. Today I celebrate that these women who had few opportunities outside their homes used their skills, vision and patience to make beautiful functional art to benefit family and friends.
Quilting is such a nurturing family thing too, and what better way to spend a life than to do the best you can by those you love? For generations, women made quilts for their families to stay warm under or to be sold for money to help feed their families. They gave gifted quilts to friends that they'd made with their own hands and time. These quilts were not made from brand new bolts of fabric purchased at Walmart or Jo-Anne's fabrics like many are today. They were made repurposing old curtains, sheets or clothing. Any scraps of fabrics that could be reused were kept and built into future quilts or other items of clothing. Not much got thrown away like it does today. Quilting makes the environmentalist in me happy. And as a woman with choices in life, I am glad that I can now celebrate skills such as quilting that have traditionally been woman's work.
A good problem to have. Both of Lesley's grandmothers were quilters, so she comes from good quilting genes and picked up on everything very quickly. And she has a good problem, especially as a new quilter. She has several quilt toppers that her grandmothers never finished. I'd learned from my quilting friend and teacher, Karen, that many quilters sew the toppers but never finish the process of sewing the batting and backing to them and then hand-stitching through the layers. You can sometimes find toppers at second hand stores or yard sales. If you are lucky enough to find them it saves you half the work, and as Karen says, she feels honored to finish the work that a "fore-mother" started. She wonders about their life, their thoughts, their goals and loves, as she finishes what they started. I like that idea too. Lesley pulled out pictures of her grandmothers and set them up on the buffet next to the table as we got started with the topper. We studied the pictures. We honored them with our efforts.
Getting supplies. Of the unfinished toppers, Lesley and I picked the one that looked the simplest as a starter project, a version of the nine block square. Then we went to Jo-Anne's Fabrics armed with discount coupons. Les picked out the backing, batting and other basic quilting supplies such as a rotary cutter, mat, quilting needles, quilting pins, thread and thimble. When we got back to her house, we began laying out the layers: backing, batting and topper, and pinning them together, using the backing as side hems.
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| My friend, Les and I, laying out the quilt topper before pinning it to the backing and batting. |
Instead of a memory quilt, Lesley had asked me if I could repair a pink and white quilt that one of her grandmothers had made for her oldest child, her only daughter, when she was born. This daughter is now an adult and has a daughter of her own who is just starting middle school. Neither of them know about this secret quilt project, which is half the fun for me in accepting this project.
Rebuilding this quilt is such a labor of love for my friend and her family, and such a wonderful project celebrating motherhood, grandmothers...and yes, fathers and grandfathers. At my suggestion, Lesley kept a couple of her father's shirts which I am now using to rebuild parts of this quilt.
When I first examined the quilt, I saw that it was in very bad shape and would basically have to be rebuilt. The only parts that can be saved are the little girls with bonnets. Even with the little bonneted girls, a couple have to totally be remade and a couple more have to be partially remade. I am using the material from the two shirts of Lesley's dad to rebuild these little girls. Lesley's daughter was very close to her grandfather so she will cry when she sees this quilt finished. I know it. I am so happy to do something that will have such an impact.
Stretching and Obsessing, in a good way. This project is stretching my skills, a good thing. It is the perfect project because I feel comfortable to figure it out, knowing that Lesley has faith in me. I am no professional, but I am dedicated, excited about the project, and am finding that once I start a quilt, I am obsessed with finishing it. I find myself spending time thinking about it when I'm not actually working on it. This is the way I was when I sewed each of the five memory quilts for my sister's kids when she died. This is how I was when I sewed the two rag-denim quilts that I made, one for a niece and one for the top loft in our RV. And this is how I am with rebuilding the quilt for Lesley and her daughter. I think I will be finished long before winter is over. I could even, conceivably, be finished before we leave for Key West in mid October.
Quilting on a beautiful day. While Lesley and I worked on the quilts, with beautiful sunlight streaming in the windows, we sang along to familiar oldies playing in the background. We gossiped a bit, we laughed a lot, and we caught up with each other lives, we shared secrets.
Adding to the warmth of the ambiance, Lesley started making bread in the afternoon, multi-tasking between that and the quilting, and giving us wonderful smells. I love when I'm working an artistic project and several of my senses are being fed. The fabric feels so good to my fingers. The colors are gorgeous and delight my eyes. The music was fun and singing together was even greater bonding for our friendship. Then the smell of bread cooking, it just doesn't get any better than that. But yet it did. In looking out the glass doors to Lesley's backyard, I could see a few objects I'd given her from my backyard when we got ready to sell our house a couple years ago. It makes me happy that things I've loved are now loved by someone I love.
What a great couple of days working with Lesley on these quilts.
What a great couple of days working with Lesley on these quilts.
I can't wait to see what you do with Lesley's "Sun Bonnet Sue" quilt. I have really enjoyed reading your blog, and seeing what you've done with your sister's clothes. Your family is lucky to have you.
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