Quilt Thoughts

I got these two quilt tops at a yard sale last fall, for $2 apiece. I don't really know why I bought them, except that they reminded me much of when I was a child and used to piece quilts with Grandma Hemmer and Aunt Louise. Grandma and I cut pieces out on the screened in back porch on long summer mornings. And then in the evenings, when Aunt Louise was home from work, she would piece quilts on the sewing machine, and I would feed her the squares, making sure to alternate dark and light squares. They were always basic quilts, because they were for the World Relief group to knot and send around the world, so they weren't real great works of art. But they were beautiful in their own way.

I will probably list these on eBay for lack of anything to do with them. But they are really interesting to look at, because they are a throwback to earlier days. The fabric is probably vintage 1950s. Even some of the small pieces are pieced within themselves - it is very obvious that the maker was a Depression-era woman who used everything, letting nothing to go waste.

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I also think about them in context of today's young people, who know nothing of piecing or quilting things like this. Blankets to them come from China via the department store. And they would know (or probably care) even less about the intricate patterns or the amount of work involved. They just have no appreciation for much of anything that doesn't come with a screen. And I am afraid that that is a loss for all of us - and will be even more so when today's young people have become the parents and grandparents who have lost this link to history and cultural ties.