The first generation: Dorothea Jeanette

I am sorry to say I really did not appreciate the art of quilting when I was younger. I had been a sewer since I was a teenager. I even bought my first sewing machine, a Dressmaker, at 17 years old. I made clothes and curtains, but had no interest in quilts. I admired the quilts my mother made and even remember learning to hand quilt on an old quilt frame set up in our living room. Back then everything was done by hand and was a form of leisure. A quilt may take a year or more to make, a block here and there.

My mother only made a few quilts. She did them all my hand. I am fortunate to have one of my mother's quilts. The quilt is completely cross stitch. I remember it being a kit she received as a Christmas gift. This quilt means a lot. Mom started the cross stitch when my father was diagnosed with lung cancer. She carried it back and forth to his radiation treatments for several months. She stitched as she kept him company at the end stage of his disease. That was in 1975. The cross stitch finished, it was put aside for several years after my father passed. Finally she took it out and quilted, all by hand of course. It was on her bed, and a few years before she passed she gave it to me. It has a few stains, but I treasure it.

I admit I can not image myself having the patience to complete such a project. If it where not for rotary cutters and mats and machine piecing I may not have had the nerve to start my first project. And while I love piecing. I have no desire to do it by hand.

Here is a close up and full view of the quilt. The name of the design has been lost. She never thought to make labels or record her work. If it where not for the fact I remembered her doing the cross stitch during my fathers final year I would not even have a year to date it.

Close up of center panel

Over view of quilt. Can you imagine the patience it took to complete this project?

Mom in 1975 the year my father passed

Isn't this a sweet photo?

Oh computers and scanners are wonderful things. I am so lucky to have discovered this picture as  I went through an old disc my sister had. This picture  is of our parents when they where young. I never actually saw this picture. It makes me smile to see it today.