One of the most precious memories I have of my Grandma is how much she loved to sew. She made beautiful patchwork quilts, pillows, and placemats out of calico prints and scraps of fabric. I loved watching her choose a color scheme, trace the pattern, and cut out the pieces. It was like watching an artist create a masterpiece.
One summer, my Grandma decided to make the most difficult quilt she’d ever attempted. The flower basket pattern looks simple enough, but the difficulty lies in making sure each and every corner meets up without a gap. There’s about three dozen geometric pieces in each block! On top of that, she wanted to cover the borders and empty spaces with intricate stitch designs.
For most sewers this is a challenge, but my Grandma added a bonus challenge. She believed that patchwork quilts were best when made by hand. That meant tracing and cutting each piece individually and hand-sewing every single stitch. I remember watching her at the kitchen table with stacks of fabric and quilt templates. And how could I forget her sewing blocks together while in the car (it was a looooong drive into town) and even when flying (back in the days when it was okay to bring scissors on a plane).
A few years ago, my Grandma passed her crowning achievement to me. I’ve always treasured it, but now that she’s gone, her flower basket quilt is absolutely priceless.
Grandma’s Handiwork: Flower Basket Quilt
I love how I can still see her pencil marks and that I can remember her sewing some of the petal stitches. In particular, I have a distinct memory of her using pink thread to make the flowers in the upper right corner.
Grandma’s stitched flowers and swirls.
As soon as I was old enough to hold a needle without hurting myself, my Grandma started to teach me how to sew. She taught me how to make invisible knots and how to evenly space stitches. Just like her, I learned how to do everything by hand. To this day, I make my quilts the traditional way.
I made my first micro-quilt when I was about nine years old. While she was working on a larger Tumbler pattern quilt, I used a few scrap pieces to make a smaller version:
Tumbler Quilts. Grandma made the big one and I made the little one.
The bright yellow piece on my quilt was actually sewn in on purpose. One of the special things my Grandma taught me was to make sure there was an “oddball” piece or a mistake in every quilt. This was important because it paid homage to the pioneers who used nothing but scraps to make quilts. They didn’t have beautiful fabrics or the luxury of perfectly matching colors and we shouldn’t forget that tradition. Can you find the “mistake” in her quilt?
One of the last projects we ever worked on together was a quilt I started when I was sixteen. It took ten years for me to complete all the blocks (college kind of distracted me), but she was still there to help me lay out the border and trace the quilting lines. Then, there was one evening when we were both on the floor rolling out the backing and pinning all the layers together. I couldn’t have done it without her!
Another few years went by before I finally finished the quilt. I am so grateful that she got to see it before she passed away. Along with her flower basket quilt, my eight-point star quilt holds memories that will stay with me for a lifetime.
The last quilt I worked on with my Grandma.
Yes, there are a few on-purpose mistakes in this quilt! Can you find them?
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c.b.w. 2013
Thanks for sharing these memories. My grandmother taught me to sew as well though I never found the love of it as she did. I do still carry those happy memories of learning though, as well as many quilts made with love.
Even if you don’t love sewing, it really is wonderful to have those memories!
Thanks for sharing.
Those quilts are beautiful. I wish I’d learned how to make them when I was young. Thank you for the story and the memories.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
You come by your creative genes honestly! The Navaho weavers also always make a “mistake” in their weavings, because only the Great Spirit can make anything that is perfect. Both your grandma’s and your quilts are beautiful!
I’ve heard that about the Navajos. One of my students recently told me the story behind that legend – his grandmother makes incredible rugs.
What beautiful quilts. I love quilts, just the feel of them, but I never learned to do them properly. I don’t have the patience. Grandma had a big frame that filled the living room and all the ladies would come over to help her stitch. When they were done some ropes were pulled and the quilt frame went up to the ceiling until the next time.
Hmmm . . . . there may be a “proper” way but there is no right way to make a quilt. As long as there is love, they are warm and beautiful.
My Grandma was part of a sewing group – in fact that’s where she learned the craft. I have vague memories of the place where she went, but they are a little fuzzy!
What lovely quilts and great memories!!! My grandmother didn’t teach me but she did buy my sisters and I a sewing machine and we went to her home for a how-to-use the machine class with a Sears representative. It might have included how- to- read a pattern too. Not sure. Then we were on our own until I took a year of sewing in high school.
My grandparents actually bought me my first sewing machine, too! She showed me how to use, though. The crazy thing is I still have it and I do use it to sew things like placemats, bags, and doll clothes.
Beautiful quilts! What a wonderful skill to get from your grandmother. My grandmother taught me how to embroidery. Although I don’t have a lot of time to do it, sometimes I just pick it up to walk down memory lane a bit.
I love to do embroidery, but like you I just don’t have the time!
I love quilts and admire all who make them! It was wonderful to read about how your grandma taught you. These are all beautiful pieces of works, but I really love the last one.
Thank you . . . I’m so happy she took the time to show me how to sew. It’s a skill I’ve used throughout my life and I will think of her every time I pick up a needle.
A good friend surprised me a few years ago with a quilt. They do become treasures, don’t they? Every time I look at it, I think about much that person must care for me. Mistake in Grandma’s quilt: Could it be having two of the same material touching (the pink flowers)?
Yes! That’s the mistake.
There’s more than once instance of it, too!
I can’t find the one in yours, though. Clue?
It’s very subtle. It has to do with orientation and color configuration.
A stunning collection! You brought back a memory, thank you, of my grandmother tatting while I sat beside her practicing the crochet stitches she taught me.
What a lovely memory!
Even from this one post, we can all see so much of your grandmother in you!
The flower basket quilt is incredible! I also love the intentional mistakes. I’ve only made a couple of quilts, mostly when I was a teenager, and mine all have mistakes… though none intentional. : ) The work you both have done is beautiful! Maybe next time I make one, I’ll try it her way instead of just leaving the hand sewing for the binding and quilting the layers together.
It’s worth it to make at least one by hand. The process is very soothing and is a lesson in patience. If anything, its a good history lesson on the days when everything was made by hand.
Heck no… it looks perfect!
I think the mistakes make it perfect.
That’s what makes it homemade!
If there were mistakes in those quilts, I couldn’t find them! They all are gorgeous, to me.
I know what you mean about mistakes making something homemade. When I make my cards, I often turn mistakes into something better by adding embellishments to cover the errors and no one is the wiser.
I do the same thing with just about everything I make. Mistakes are beautiful!