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BACK TO THE BEGINNING

2/7/2014

3 Comments

 
Welcome to my new blog.  I’ve attempted blogging a couple of times before, and those blogs are still floating around cyberspace, but I’ve decided to start fresh and hopefully be more intentional about keeping up with it.  I plan to post once a week, mostly about my quilts, but also other things as they pop up. 

Every quilt has a story to tell, and I’m going to revisit some of my older quilts, and let them tell their stories.  (I began quilting when I was still in high school, so I shouldn’t run out of material for a while.)  I’ll also do some step-by-step (not exactly tutorials) information about the processes as I make some new quilts.  Maybe I’ll even do some tutorials.  I’m open to suggestions as to what kind of tutorials you are looking for.   Maybe I can fill that niche (or maybe not, depending on what it is).

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I’m going to start off with the story of my first quilt, started in about 1956 or 1957 with my paternal grandmother, Margaret Moore Morris.  She lived with my family for a time, and one day she announced, “You and I are going to make a quilt.”  I don’t remember being exactly thrilled about it, but as I recall, my mother encouraged me by saying something to the effect of, “Grandma needs to be needed.”  Anyway, Grandma ordered a pattern from Michigan Farmer magazine’s quilt pattern service.  There wasn’t much around in the 1950’s, since the big quilting movement was yet to happen.  The pattern only had a number, no name. 


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Grandma and I both pieced blocks, using scraps from her collection, and unbleached muslin (she called it “factory”). 

   This was my first attempt at hand quilting.   I did it over Christmas break during my first year of college.  (Remember black and white photos?)



My quilt got finished in 1960.  Grandma’s remained a stack of blocks (she died in 1961) and a few years later my mother made them into a quilt for my brother.  Many more years later, when my children were nearly grown, my mom gave me 18 more blocks that were left over from my brother’s quilt (Grandma enjoyed piecing, and just kept making blocks, without really counting if there were enough to make a quilt).  They languished in my closet for some time.  After all, what do you do with 18 blocks?  They don’t fit the usual parameters of a quilt.  About the time my first grandchild came along, I had the idea to make a quilt for each of my three children’s first child, so that each family would have a quilt made by the child’s great-great grandmother.

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As it looks today, well worn and beyond use.  I have it put away as a keepsake.

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This block kept its color pretty well through many washings.   This is the original block, and the kite shapes make a secondary design.

Do you remember your first quilt?
3 Comments
debbi link
3/5/2014 01:19:31 am

that is really cool, the way your family history is passed down in pieces of fabric. :0) I love to quilt too, and one year decided to make a quilt for each child for Christmas. Which was 8 quilts! my sewing machine still hasn't recovered. lol
Debbi
-<a href="http://www.yankeeburrowcreations.com" title = "yankeeburrow">yankeeburrow</a>

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www.grandmalikestosew.com link
2/21/2016 07:02:15 am

I love the idea of passing down my quilts to my children.

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Bobbi Galloup
11/22/2019 03:14:41 pm

I love this.
I started my first quilt in late 1979 or early 1980. I was 18 years old, in the Navy, working nights and pregnant with our first child. Using iron on patterns, I embroidered different sized blocks with animals, mostly dogs and cats. Because we didn't know if we were having a boy or girl, I used pale yellow and blue material. I had extra blocks, so I made a pillow to match. Knot tying was the only way I had seen to finish a quilt.
I mostly worked on it while on night shift. We had quite a bit of wait time, back then, running backups and babysitting a room sized computer.
It was almost 20 years before a made another quilt. Then another 10 years or so, after I fully retired, before I started making more complicated blocks.
I still consider myself a newbie at quilting. I've made about 8 quilts. I love designing and making quilt tops. Still not a fan of the actual quilting part of it. Mostly I've fished them by knot tying and stitch in the ditch.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm kind of afraid to ruin a quilt by trying different quilting techniques. I've watched lots of videos on it and eventually I'll make a bunch a practice squares to help build my confidence in what I call "real quilting"

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Leave a Reply.

    Elsie Vredenburg
    I've been quilting for most of my life, in one form or another.  It remains my passion, even after all these years. 

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

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