Guest Post: Grandma's Scraps

I haven't made a quilt since I was a child. It was the simplest of block quilts, without even binding, made from scraps and bits or projects the women around me worked on. It had denim, satin, cotton, muslin, and even orange rip stop nylon. It was a crazy maze of patches I worked from the inside out. Mom attached it to an old faded flower printed sheet with yarn, and no batting. I sometimes wonder where that thing went, as it was lost on one of the many moves we made. It probably fell apart; my childish stitches weren't exactly strong and useful. 

Now, I am finally working on another quilt. In June, my grandmoter died at 91 years old. We had to sort through her belongings, and most of the clothes were going to be donated. I am not sure why, but I got it in my head to make quilts for each grandchild. Unfortunately, there isn't enough material for five quilts, but I am still going to make what I can. I found a very simple 8 pointed star pattern online, titled "Indian Star Quilt" that I'm sure I can sew. 

I'm somewhat cursing her pragmatic nature. All but three pair of pants are brown, taupe, or black polyester. They don't fade, shrink, or stain. I can see why she chose them, but it doesn't make for an exciting quilt. I've decided to make thee quilts special with stitching rather than nicely matching materials or beautiful prints. I'm going to use my machine, since I have neither the patience nor time to hand stitch everything, but I am going to just fill them with stitches. They'll probably be so stiff they'll stand up on their own. With some use, they will soften, and hopefully they'll seem conservative and Amish rather than childish and odd. Just thinking of an Amish woman using polyester for a quilt makes me giggle, though.