I have a blue jean quilt my mom made. The other thing about why they used small pieces is because they saved all their fabric scraps and quilting was one way to make something new from them even if they were small reminents.
My grandma on my dad's side was a quilter and growing up I had one on my bed. I loved it and it was a great blanket, but since I was a kid and also played on it, it got worn and tattered.
No worries. I work both day jobs on Monday, so usually by the time I get off work, eat dinner and sit down, I’m too tired to think up something crafty to talk about. Maybe I should do Maker Sunday instead. I don’t work either job that day.
I never had a "real" grandmother, but was fortunate that the family that took my Dad in (for room and board in exchange for farm labor) when he was in high school stayed close and became my surrogate grandparents. They lived in a 1929 built farmhouse that her Dad built, both worked for the local government and raised sheep, while Grandpa did the sheering Grandma crocheted. When I was in high school she asked me what colors I would like her to use for a blanket and I asked for earth tones, when she gifted it to me the following Christmas, it had a blue ribbon on it from the Citrus Fair held earlier. 💙
Neat - that's pretty far up north for my California experiences! I spent some time in LA and San Diego - a couple of weeks max at a time in each spot. I also got to drive up the PCH like 22 years ago, and it took my breath away! I visited SF once and liked it (although probably not to live, it was very fun to visit).
I picked up a nasty cold last weekend. Tuesday morning, I taught two yoga classes, doing long guided meditations to reduce Election Day stress. My students commented on my sultry voice. By late Tuesday, I’d lost my voice. Late Wednesday, my voice returned to sound like a 3-pack-a-day life time smoker—my husband started to call me Miley Cyrus 😂
Needless to say, I cancelled my classes Wednesday and Thursday to give my voice some rest. I received a text mid morning Thursday from one of my regulars—she’d left me a gift on my doorstep. A quilt to snuggle under while resting on the couch.
Our jiu jitsu students will give the instructors gifts from time to time. I used to feel weird taking them, but it just feels really natural and fulfilling now.
I had to ask my friend/student… she said: You are right about the stories (all quilts has stories behind them!). I combined two quilt ideas: (1) “hip to be square“ (as you remind me to square up my hips, shoulders etc) and (2) “pathway” (as you are showing me a healthy path!) 🥰
I have a quilt somewhere my grandmother gave me. She made one for all use grandkids. My memory of her sitting at a quilting frame is timeless. Like you, I didn't appreciate the gift until much later in life. Mine is stored somewhere, and I think they need to be seen. But like plastic on living room furniture, it never made sense to me. I definitely rebelled against such conservative measures but have become more conservative over time. "Turn the lights out when you leave the room."
Yes! Same here. Do you remember what the sewing machine was like? I recall something made of cast iron, but maybe that's just my fuzzy memory.
I'm the same way with rebellion. I've still got that 17 year old punk living in me, always looking out for ways to stand up against power whenever it gets abusive, but I also see that I conflated way too many good things in with all that angst. It's almost like we get wiser as we get older! I really hope that's the case, anyway. :)
Sharing these memories and looking back together is such a cool way to think about this stuff.
By the time I knew about sewing machine, all my female relatives had Singer machines. They got so complex that they hardly resemble the early ones. We have an antique one at my mom's house that is made of cast iron and animated by a rocking foot pedal.
I have been a "rebel" as long as I can remember. I am stubborn about "understanding" concepts that sometimes rubs people the wrong way. I am a deep diver (in the middle of the night!)
Same here. I am still figuring out to articulate my skepticism in a lot of these spots, and I have gotten better at this as I've gotten older, but still feel like I've only scratched the surface. Getting an idea out of my head and into someone else's means I have to understand my own mind better, and how others perceive what I say, etc. That's kind of my main struggle these days, I think.
I think about that cast iron sewing machine a lot, the kind with the foot pump. My mom had a more modern version, but I'm certain that I've seen much older forms that don't run on electricity.
Now you have me curious about the eiderdown aspect! The feathers are from arctic birds, apparently. I've read that the way it's collected is usually just waiting for the feathers to fall off, then collecting them. Cruelty free!
I have a blue jean quilt my mom made. The other thing about why they used small pieces is because they saved all their fabric scraps and quilting was one way to make something new from them even if they were small reminents.
Got any pics of the quilt you wanna share in Notes? Just tag me if you end up sharing!
I am well familiar with quilts after playing Patchwork (the two-player board game) with my wife.
I find that if you wrap a quill in a quilt and then you s-quint your eyes just so, you can quickly quit having friends or even ac-quaintances.
Quit it out!
I tried but I just quant! Quelp me!
Yikes, we had better end this game here before it devolves too much further into silliness. I'll be the bigger person and quilt first.
I ac-quiesce to your suggestion.
My grandma on my dad's side was a quilter and growing up I had one on my bed. I loved it and it was a great blanket, but since I was a kid and also played on it, it got worn and tattered.
Dang, I shoulda saved this one for Maker Monday!
No worries. I work both day jobs on Monday, so usually by the time I get off work, eat dinner and sit down, I’m too tired to think up something crafty to talk about. Maybe I should do Maker Sunday instead. I don’t work either job that day.
I never had a "real" grandmother, but was fortunate that the family that took my Dad in (for room and board in exchange for farm labor) when he was in high school stayed close and became my surrogate grandparents. They lived in a 1929 built farmhouse that her Dad built, both worked for the local government and raised sheep, while Grandpa did the sheering Grandma crocheted. When I was in high school she asked me what colors I would like her to use for a blanket and I asked for earth tones, when she gifted it to me the following Christmas, it had a blue ribbon on it from the Citrus Fair held earlier. 💙
https://cloverdalecitrusfair.org/
Wow! Where was this?
California in the early 1980’s. The link was history about the Citrus Fair which dates back to 1892!
Neat - that's pretty far up north for my California experiences! I spent some time in LA and San Diego - a couple of weeks max at a time in each spot. I also got to drive up the PCH like 22 years ago, and it took my breath away! I visited SF once and liked it (although probably not to live, it was very fun to visit).
We have quilts from JFran Wyoming grandma and they are all made of scraps of square fabric
Nice! Got any pics?
Had to go on a search and they too are wrapped in plastic; I'll post for you in notes later
Nice, and good on you for keeping them in plastic!
I picked up a nasty cold last weekend. Tuesday morning, I taught two yoga classes, doing long guided meditations to reduce Election Day stress. My students commented on my sultry voice. By late Tuesday, I’d lost my voice. Late Wednesday, my voice returned to sound like a 3-pack-a-day life time smoker—my husband started to call me Miley Cyrus 😂
Needless to say, I cancelled my classes Wednesday and Thursday to give my voice some rest. I received a text mid morning Thursday from one of my regulars—she’d left me a gift on my doorstep. A quilt to snuggle under while resting on the couch.
That’s my quilt story.
That's a good story! Was the quilt patchwork?
Our jiu jitsu students will give the instructors gifts from time to time. I used to feel weird taking them, but it just feels really natural and fulfilling now.
I had to ask my friend/student… she said: You are right about the stories (all quilts has stories behind them!). I combined two quilt ideas: (1) “hip to be square“ (as you remind me to square up my hips, shoulders etc) and (2) “pathway” (as you are showing me a healthy path!) 🥰
That's really cool, and I'm glad I asked that question!
Me too!
I have a quilt somewhere my grandmother gave me. She made one for all use grandkids. My memory of her sitting at a quilting frame is timeless. Like you, I didn't appreciate the gift until much later in life. Mine is stored somewhere, and I think they need to be seen. But like plastic on living room furniture, it never made sense to me. I definitely rebelled against such conservative measures but have become more conservative over time. "Turn the lights out when you leave the room."
Yes! Same here. Do you remember what the sewing machine was like? I recall something made of cast iron, but maybe that's just my fuzzy memory.
I'm the same way with rebellion. I've still got that 17 year old punk living in me, always looking out for ways to stand up against power whenever it gets abusive, but I also see that I conflated way too many good things in with all that angst. It's almost like we get wiser as we get older! I really hope that's the case, anyway. :)
Sharing these memories and looking back together is such a cool way to think about this stuff.
By the time I knew about sewing machine, all my female relatives had Singer machines. They got so complex that they hardly resemble the early ones. We have an antique one at my mom's house that is made of cast iron and animated by a rocking foot pedal.
I have been a "rebel" as long as I can remember. I am stubborn about "understanding" concepts that sometimes rubs people the wrong way. I am a deep diver (in the middle of the night!)
Same here. I am still figuring out to articulate my skepticism in a lot of these spots, and I have gotten better at this as I've gotten older, but still feel like I've only scratched the surface. Getting an idea out of my head and into someone else's means I have to understand my own mind better, and how others perceive what I say, etc. That's kind of my main struggle these days, I think.
I think about that cast iron sewing machine a lot, the kind with the foot pump. My mom had a more modern version, but I'm certain that I've seen much older forms that don't run on electricity.
I didn't know that. It was quite old.
I didn't know much either, but now we both know this, thanks to you remembering and sharing! Thanks for that.
Very interesting article thank you. As a child I had a pink eiderdown quilt. It was very warm indeed.
Hey, neat! What was the design like? Do you remember?
It wasn't patchwork, it was embroidered in a quilted style. Can't remember more it was a long time ago 😉
Now you have me curious about the eiderdown aspect! The feathers are from arctic birds, apparently. I've read that the way it's collected is usually just waiting for the feathers to fall off, then collecting them. Cruelty free!