Special Quilts

This quilt was made entirely of Bev's fabric... except for the red narrow border and the binding fabric. Even the flannel backing fabric is from Bev. Bev sent me a box of fabric, and I received it in the mail just days after she died. I think she knew I would take good care of the fabric for her. This quilt will be donated in Bev's memory to Wrap-a-Smile, to warm a child after cleft palate surgery in Peru next January. We at Sunshine, who are missing Bev, decided to provide all the quilts they will need for one mission.. this means over 100 quilts. We'll happily do this to honor Bev, and many of us have already started production. This is my first completed one for Peru and fittingly, it is almost entirely from (and for) Bev.



This next picture shows you how klutzy I can be. I quilted this strip of fabric onto the back of the quilt and didn't even know it until I was nearly done. Needless to say, this rather glaring error has been corrected.



The rest of these pictures are antique quilts that were shown at our guild meeting this week... it was Family Quilts night. This first one belongs to a very sweet Southern Belle (she grew up in New Orleans). The quilt was hand appliqued by her aunt, c. 1940. Have you ever seen satin-stitch done by hand? Wow! It was hand quilted, though I'm not sure who did the quilting. Her mother did some work on it, so she may have been the main quilter. Anyway, it is a beautifully done quilt and lovely, like its current owner who treasures it.



I don't remember the story of this one. It is made from a kit, I think... circa 1930? And is beautifully hand quilted.



Another beautifully made quilt which was presented to its present owner from her husband's family. It is hand-made redwork and tiny-sitched hand quilting. Awesome.



This one was made in about 1970, which makes it an antique like me (I graduated from h.s. in 1970). I put my fingers in the picture so you could see how tiny the little patches are... and the hand quilting is even tinier. Gorgeous! We 1970s-era antiques are stunning, aren't we?



These quilts are treasures, and if you have one sitting in your attic or in a box, and you think it's ugly, show it to a few quilters and see what kind of reaction you get. You might have something very special in your possession. You might even learn to see its beauty and see that it's not ugly at all.