Waxing Sentimental on a Cold Late-Winter's Day

It starts with an idea. Needles and threads and fabrics are gathered. Scissors are employed. Help is enlisted. Much love is included. The result spans generations. I'm talking about heirloom sewing. I used to limit my thinking of heirloom sewing as being special garments, such as christening gowns, bridal gowns, conformation dresses, and the like. Garments such as these are worn once in a generation and carefully packed away, waiting for another wedding, another baby, another commitment to follow the teachings of God. The seamstresses who made the garments probably knew that their handiwork would be passed down and painstakingly made sure that every stitch was perfect.


Star quilt made by Gladys Clark and her mother,
Anna Drake, in 1975, Galion, Ohio

The thing is, usually when a person sets out to stitch a quilt, the thought is for immediate comfort. Whether or not the quilter is a perfectionist, the quilt is either used in the home or sent to its intended recipient. It gets washed, sometimes a lot. It gets faded. Eventually the quilt gets put away, maybe to be discovered by another generation, maybe not. I imagine that there are millions of treasure chests full of such quilts, quietly biding time with wool WWII army blankets and other has-been household linens (like embroidered pillow cases).

Gladys Clark had a different experience. Gladys already had quilts that were used for everyday when she had the idea to make a "pretty quilt to save for company". She enlisted the help of her mother, Anna Drake, who was an experienced quilter.


After 38 years of  mostly being stored in a chest, their quilt still looks like new. Gladys knew that the love that she and her mom put into that quilt needed to be kept alive, so she gifted it to her niece, with instructions to use the quilt, to enjoy it, to remember that her aunt and grandmother made it.

When Gladys saw her quilt again, it brought back many memories of making it. She says that she can tell by looking at each block which ones were quilted by her mother's fine hand and which ones were quilted by her own, less experienced hands.


Gladys writes: "Here is the quilt I sent to my niece in NY. My Mom made the blocks & she & I hand quilted it in 1975. Mom had not quilted in many years, but when I ask her to teach me, she was more than willing. But-----we didn't have quilting frames. My Mom would tackle anything, so she told Ray she would tell him how to make them. Off to Gledhill Lumber he went to get the materials. We made several quilts using those frames & I still have them."


By phone, Gladys reports that her niece was thrilled with the package, and immediately put the quilt on one of the beds in her restored Victorian home.  Stitched in Ohio by women who were originally from West Virginia and now gracing a bedroom in New York, Gladys' quilt has touched the hearts of three generations of women and is a true "time machine"...a true heirloom.


Marcheta *keeping sweet memories alive

Grandma's Flower Garden

One of the things that I found interesting about Jim's family when I met them was that they have been farming Crawford County for generations. He lived on the same farm as his mother's folks and not far from the farm where his father was raised. He had aunts, uncles, and cousins galore that he saw often.

I also have aunts, uncles, and cousins galore, but only one family that moved to Ohio with us from Virginia. Instead of seeing extended family weekly, I only saw mine a few times a year.

But that does not mean that our family traditions did not run deep, or that they were not passed down to our generation. In fact, I believe that it is several of these traditions that held us together.

My mom's mother, Myrtle, was an avid sewer and crocheter, but she is most remembered for her quilts. My sister, Debbie, sent me an email pondering just how many quilts grandma made. We have no idea, but the amount is staggering, considering that she hand quilted each one after months of cutting out shapes from fabric scraps and piecing them together on her sewing machine to make the quilt tops.

Grandma moved to Ohio in the late 1970's to be nearer my mom and "us kids". She taught Debbie to make a quilt top. In this picture, taken by mom and sent to me from Debbie, our great aunt Alla, Debbie, and grandma are working on Debbie's quilt in mom's basement.

The quilt design is "Grandmother's Flower Garden", which was a huge undertaking for a first project because of the difficulty in getting the pieces to fit together. But that is how grandma was, nothing daunted her. My first sewing lesson from her, at age 12, was an empire waisted dress that zipped up the back and had fitted long sleeves with plackets at the wrist that were trimmed with lace and buttoned shut (meaning buttonholes were also involved). No 'just sewing square patches or making a simple apron for your first project' for grandma...she got right into the nitty-gritty, and we loved her for it because we ended up with such wonderful projects. These huge projects taught us that making things is a process and that it takes patience and time to accomplish them.

In this picture, grandma is the one with the big smile. I am not sure why Alla and Debbie look so solemn, but I think maybe mom caught them by surprise and took their picture  just as they broke their concentration and did not realize that their picture was being taken. This says a lot about grandma, who always seemed to be smiling and was happiest when she was sewing or making something, and especially when she was with her family because we had lived so far apart for such a long time.

The fancy dress is long gone (probably living a second life somewhere in one of grandma's quilts), but grandma's quilts are still around, comforting two genrations of people; her great grandkids and great-great grandkids, after the quilts were first crafted by a loving woman. It is almost like Debbie's quilt is made of everlasting flowers, isn't it?

Winter is a good time for remembrance. What family traditions do you remember?

Marcheta *loving those winter flowers