Yeah. So you may not be surprised that while my Papa watches Fox News all day, I putter. This is where I found the million of Christmas cards from people we’re not even related to anymore and got permission to upcycle them into gift tags. One time I found a bunch of my Mama’s really old resin record albums and ripped them all to my computer. I dug around in the attic until I found all my old Strawberry Shortcake dolls and Transformers and He-Man guys (remember this dude? He’s my favorite). And then, a couple of days ago, I found the quilts. I knew that my grandmother had pieced the occasional quilt, and that when she pieced one she would give it to her mother to quilt, but nobody bothered to tell me that she did that because my Nana? Was a master quilter. This Sunbonnet Sue is not quilted, of course–it’s tyed–but look at how perfect the applique is there, and that’s all hand-stitched! And don’t even get me started on the fabrics. My Nana had a really unfortunate love affair with polyester, and the quilts she made for me as a small child in the 1970s are both polyester nine-patches–you have to appreciate the skill and quality of workmanship, but the fabric and color choice? Rancid. But these fabrics? 1950s florals. Ahhhhh. This is a friendship quilt. Twenty or so women contributed panels of this design, but in their own color choice, and embroidered their names in the middle of each panel. This panel was sewn by Nana herself, or Ethel Shepherd for those of you who didn’t grow up on her fried apple hand pies. Friendship quilts were often made for a person for some particular occasion, and unfortunately Papa doesn’t remember what it would have been, but my Mama sewed her own panel on this quilt, too (maybe it was for the birth of her baby brother?), and this quilt obviously saw a LOT of love on Nana’s bed–the binding is worn off, the batting is rubbed clean through in several places, and there are a couple of stains on the front. I have much more to say on this later, but do you know where I found these beautiful quilts, friends? Stuffed in a closet. Stuffed in a garbage bag. With MOTHBALLS. What vintage craft treasures do you treasure?
