Quilting has made a comeback. Women - and men - are going "old school." My friend, Gil, has just finished a quilt. Apparently his first. He shared the process recently on Facebook.
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| Gil's Quilt |
I grew up with quilts and quilting. My brother Paul and I spent our summers with our aunt and grandmother on a farm in southern Indiana. Our grandma, the mother of 13, always had a quilt going. All of our relatives, no matter how simply they lived, had quilts galore. They were made from scraps of favorite clothing. Seed bags came in colorful, printed cotton bags. When they were emptied, dresses were made and when they were outgrown, the cloth was used for quilts.
All of the quilts from my childhood were hand quilted on huge frames. During the 30s and 40s there were quilting clubs where women came together to quilt and visit. Many times, this was the only social time these women had.
A few decades ago I read a wonderful book about quilters who solved murders. When I just went to Amazon to find the title, I found that there are hundreds of books about quilters who solve murders.
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| Pencil drawing of machine |
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| Pencil drawing of designs |
My dad was an artist. Looking back I know he was gifted. Not as a dad, certainly, but as an artist. He wasn't a bad person, he was just overwhelmed by the life he was forced to live. When he had the time, he did portraits in oils, wood carvings and explored other mediums. When he was older, long before quilting machines were invented, he decided to make one himself.
He strung up pulleys in his basement and reworked an old industrial sewing machine. Before long he had folks from all over sending him quilt tops to be finished with his lavish designs. Here are the penciled drawings he sent me, decades ago, to show how it worked.
I won't be doing any quilting but I'm glad this art form is popular again. P.S. I love the quilt on my bed.
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My bed
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