Keepsake Quilts

My grandmother as well as my mother were quilters. Both of them created functional quilts that were used daily during the cold winter months, as well as decorative top quilts that were used as bedspreads. Most of the quilts are worn because they were laundered often because of constant use. Today my sisters and I have them displayed as keepsake quilts in our homes.

My grandmother passed away many years ago. She was a very practical woman. I am sure she would be surprised to find her work displayed in the glass case I found for keepsake quilts. Grandmother quilted because it was a practical way to keep her and the children warm during the winter months. She would recycle fabric from clothing and other sources. She would sew these pieces of fabric together to form one large piece of fabric. Today this is referred to as a crazy quilt. There is no pattern that it followed in sewing the pieces together. Once the fabric was the size that was needed it was attached to filling and another piece of fabric. The filling was often a worn blanket or an inexpensive batting material. This created a two sided quilt that was then held together by hand sewn stitches or by tying the quilt with yarn. We found several of these keepsake quilts in the attic of my mother’s home. When she had cleaned out her parent’s home she had placed crazy quilts and three decorative quilts in my grandmother’s cedar chest. Her intentions were to some day recycle the quilts into new ones by taking them apart. My sisters and I are so glad that she never found the time to do this. She concentrated on making appliqué quilts. She made quilts to decorate each of the bedrooms in the family home as well as baby quilts to give as gifts. I have baby keepsake quilts displayed as wall hangings in my guest room. I also took two keepsake quilts that were twin size and sewed them together to form a cover for the bed in the spare room. My mom had made the twin quilts in the same patterns and colors to have on bunk beds.

My mother did not value the artistry in quilting. She liked creating colorful bedcovers, but she did this because it was less expensive than buying bed spreads. As soon as she and dad had enough money to purchase bed coverings she stopped making the quilts. She does not understand why we want to display the keepsake quilts on the beds and walls of our homes. She would rather see new bedspreads that are purchased at the store. Keepsake quilts have very little value in her eyes.