Things Come Full Circle

kate ♦ March 29, 2012 ♦ 1 Comment

Five weeks ago I wrote about the death of my grandmother, Marie.  She was born in 1923 and missed the birth of her first great-grandchild by a mere 20 days.  Oliver will never meet Marie, although even if she had lived to see him born he wouldn’t have been able to see the fiery woman she had been.

Last week Oliver received an amazing gift from a friend of the family, Laurie.  Laurie shares my grandmother’s love of quilting and was the recipient of my grandmother’s quilting supplies after she could no longer live on her own.  When Oliver’s impending birth was announced Laurie set about using quilt circles my grandmother had made and pieced them into a full quilt for Oliver.  I only have a small picture of one completed square right now, but once I have a day with good lighting and someone to hold the quilt for me, I’ll include a picture of the whole thing and a close up of the alphabet fabric in the center.  In the mean time, it’s amazing that Oliver could receive a gift that was (in part) hand-made by his great-grandmother.  Laurie’s thoughtfulness and skill have produced an amazing quilt that we will treasure always.  I look forward to the time when Oliver is old enough to understand the significance of this quilt.

Laurie, thank you does not begin to express my gratitude for this gift… but for lack of more fitting words, THANK YOU!

 

Below is the letter that Laurie wrote to accompany the quilt.  *Note: Last names have been purposely omitted.

Dear Kate,

I would have preferred to hand write this letter, but my arthritis would never allow it.  I wanted you to know the history of this quilt.  I hope that someday Oliver might pass it on to his first born.

It seems that your paternal grandmother, Marie, was a quilter.  When your dad, Alan, moved your grandmother to the nursing facility he discovered a collection of quilting “stuff”.  Your dad knew that I was a quilter and he called asking if I would take the collection of quilting supplies and do with it as I see fit.  I agreed, and he was grateful. I looked through your grandmother’s “stuff” and discovered two unfinished quilts.  One was a muslin quilt with butterflies on it and the other was the quilt top I reworked for Oliver.  When your dad told us that you were expecting, I went to find the quilts to see what could be done and I hoped that you would have a boy because the blue quilt top would be easiest to finish, or so I thought.

Everything your grandmother sewed was by hand. That was pretty typical in the 1970’s.  That is when I estimate that the quilt was begun.  The pattern she used is called Dresden Plate. It is usually round without the four points seen on this quilt.  It appears that she altered the design to her liking.  The plate section was constructed first and then it was appliquéd to the muslin (white) background. When I took possession of the quilt, it was a little larger than it is now because the muslin blocks were quite oversized.  To break up the large white space, she had appliquéd a shape that looked something like a starfish or a petal flower, I really wasn’t sure, where the four corners of the muslin meet. The center of the Dresden Plate was the same solid blue fabric that she used for the four pointed sections.  She used that solid blue fabric for the starfish appliqué.  So that it where I began my journey of Oliver’s quilt.

I saw potential in the quilt.  I took it to my favorite quilt store in my area and they told me to leave it alone, quilt if for what it is and be done.  I thought it needed to be reworked and brought up to date, modernized.  So, this is what I did.  I removed the center circles and replaced them with the subtle alphabet pattern knowing that It would bring some life to the plate and that it would be used again as a border.  I cut apart the blocks and used a zigzag machine appliqué stitch all around the outside of the plate.  Your grandmother’s hand stitches are still under there, but I was concerned that they wouldn’t stand the test of time without some extra support.  I knew I wanted to break up the muslin and the best way to do that was to add sashing in between the blocks.  The batik fabric I found for the sashing was the prefect choice to modernize and coordinate the blues and whites. I had to cut down the size of the block many times before I was satisfied that the design was balanced.  I sewed the pieces together and finally the quilt top was finished.

Now for the part that is actually called quilting, all of the previous work is called piecing.  Quilting can take a very long time, most people are very unaware of the hours spent.  People frequently ask me, “How long did it take you to make that quilt?”  I never have an answer because I never time myself.  It’s like anything that you do that you really enjoy, you just do it with joy!  So, if you look at the back of the quilt and notice the pattern of stitching, that is what is called quilting.  You will notice that there is an odd, interesting pattern of stitching through the Dresden Plates.  Again, I was concerned about the stability of the stitches connecting the pieces of the plates so I stitched through the seams of the pieces.  I wanted to break up the expanse of white with what is called freemotion quilting.  I am pleased with the results and I think that your grandmother would be as well.  Hopefully the quilting will ensure that the quilt will be well loved and used for many years.

Now the quilt passes from your grandmother’s hands, to mine, and now on to you and Oliver.  Many blessings to you and your family.

-Laurie