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Friday, June 4, 2010

Quilting Heritage

It seems quilting is a family trait. I've made several quilts, my mom, my grandma, her mother.... and I'm fortunate enough to have handiwork from these ladies to remember them. My paternal grandma passed away a few months ago. The family had to sort through her things and discovered exactly how much of a crafty lady she was. TUBS of crochet cotton, BAGS of yarn and fabric scraps, CHESTS of quilts....it goes on. She was the queen of the barbie doll TP covers, doilies, knitting, and more.
Knowing that I liked to knit/crochet/sew/quilt/dabble, they brought me some of her things. Like 30 sets of knitting needles (no kidding). A dozen or more balls of crochet cotton thread, very vintage pattern books for various edgings with humorous quips about dressing up your undies. Treasures galore!
But the most amazing thing they gave me is this quilt:


I have no idea what the pattern is called, so I'm calling it the North Star Quilt. Do you know what or even how this type of block is pieced? I'm stumped! Grandma had this neatly folded away in a cedar chest for decades, so it looks like it's fresh off the sewing machine. She even labelled it. "Grandma Koops made this." That's her mother. My great grandmother. All three of us love turquois. Must be genetic.




This isn't the only quilt I have from this woman. I've had this butterfly quilt since childhood, and now the her great great grandchildren enjoy it. Aren't the similarities amazing? She must've had a lot of turquois in her stash. If only she had Kona Cotton back then! Both quilts are tied and feature scraps cut from clothing. I really really wish I could've seen her wardrobe because there are some trippin' fabrics in there! The butterfly quilt was falling apart in places and needed to be repaired a couple years ago. I took the liberties to label it so future generations would remember who created it. Labelling runs in the family, too.

3 comments:

val said...

1) I hope you got a barbie doll TP cover along with all of those knitting needles.

2) I fell in love with that butterfly quilt the instant I saw it at your house last year. When you run out of knitting projects from my baby, you can make her one of those. ;)

Margaret in VA said...

Sara,
The pattern is called "Nosegay". It looks like the blocks are set "on point", correct? If they are, then you should be able to divide the block into four quarters, one with the elongated diamond for the "handle" of the nosegay and then...oh! I'll have to show you Sunday, it IS complicated! What a wonderful find!

Twinfibers said...

Your quilts are amazing! I LOVE the North Star/Nosegay quilt - it is beautiful!!! -Jennifer