A Multi-Generational Quilt
It was a late spring day in Oklahoma. My kids ran around outside at my grandparents country property. We were all excited for Indian Tacos my grandmother (affectionately known as Maemae) was making for us complete with homemade fry bread. We spent the afternoon talking about times past, before my grandmother, mother or I was born and looking at hundred year old photos of my great, great grandmother who lived on Native American land near mountains in the early 1900’s. I got to try on the traditional buckskin and beaded outfit that was worn by her many years earlier and felt the beading and literal weight of her clothing. Hearing and seeing and feeling pieces of family history, my history, my children’s history are such a gift.
In the past few years I have been inspired by quilts as I learn about them and also make them. The more I’ve learned about quilting, the more I understand their significance and why they are important. Quilts meet a most basic need of bringing warmth, they offer a way to connect with the receiver of the quilt and they can be passed down and used to a next generation of friends and family. Quilts offer a tangible piece of history - a way to connect with loved ones past and the loved ones of the future. When we see a beautiful quilt or use one what’s one the first questions you ask? “Where did you get this?!” is what comes to mind - which can lead to all sorts of stories of where a quilt came from, its history.
My Maemae had taken up quilting in the last couple of years. She was into making quilt tops and then having it finished at a local quilt shop. Now, she is not new to sewing, my mom has told stories of the hand sewn clothes my grandmother used to make her as a little girl in the late 1960’s and 70’s. I remember my Maemae having sewing projects when I was even a little girl, I always knew she sewed and she also cross-stitched, something she taught me how to do. On this particular visit to my grandparents, Maemae had finished a large quilt top but had folded it up and put it in with her fabric. When I walked into her sewing room and asked her what it was she said “I don't know what I am going to do with that one”. I had wanted more practice with the hand stitching, and quilt sandwich part of quilting. I asked if I could finish it for her and she said yes! It took me a while to figure out what I wanted the backing to be on the quilt but as I gathered my thoughts I decided to just make another quilt top for the back. As I worked on the quilt over a period of about 4 months in quiet naptimes or late evenings while the boys were sleeping, I just kept thinking about the privilege of making this quilt with my grandma. What a cool history that this quilt was going to have.
As I am writing this on a cool November evening, I am cozied up on my sofa with the quilt, this multi-generationally made quilt that will always hold a special place for me as I continue my quilting journey. I hope that my boys will be able to warm up with this quilt during their lives and tell the story of the quilt that my maemae and I made together…
the quilt they watched me make,
the quilt they played around,
the quilt and it’s colors,
and the sturdy love of it.