Quilts and Quills

November in the Midwest is cold, blustery, perfect weather to curl up under a quilt, comforter or afghan. Or better yet, wrap up in one when I'm writing.

I’m the proud owner of several of my mother’s quilts. Ruth loved God and saw and appreciated beauty in everything. She didn't start quilting until we kids were grown. But she was a hard worker who couldn't abide idle hands and made up for lost time with her amazing productivity. After she retired as a high school secretary, she would get up early to quilt and end the day quilting. Some days she would work on a quilt most of the day. I don't recall her complaining about back or neck pain. As a writer, I would love to know how she managed that. I’m sure if she’d been a storyteller she’d have written dozens and dozens of books. 

My mom’s quilts are all handmade. Not that she was a purist or even a perfectionist. More that she didn't have a sewing machine at that point and loved doing handwork. She used a round standing frame to quilt large projects. My father helped by cutting fabric and making patterns. How many of us use husbands as first or final readers or to brainstorm?   

When my mother made her first quilts she used fabric she had on hand, leftover from sewing projects or cut from old garments like housecoats—anyone remember them?—and recycled. Most of the quilts I own came from that period. For me these quilts are a walk down memory lane. I can’t help smiling when I spy snippets of the lavender floral fabric leftover from reupholstering a chair for my bedroom. If you look closely you can see this quilt is very tightly quilted. Not sure if it has a name. Anyone know?

  

Later, perhaps as she gained confidence or just ran out of old fabric, Mother bought material and her quilts had a planned color scheme. She made all six of her grandchildren a quilt for a wedding gift. Like my mom, I started small but over time spent a good chunk of money, time and effort learning craft.

She called this white quilt covering our guestroom bed a bridal quilt. One single piece of fabric was used for the top and bottom with batting in between, then quilted. Not sure what she used to get the width, maybe sheets. I assume the quilt wasn't made of pieced fabric to represent the bridal couple's unity. My dad made the dogwood pattern, a tribute to the trees that grow wild in southern Indiana. 

My mother finished this ocean wave quilt from blue fabric cut into triangles by her great aunt and passed down to her mother, my grandmother, then to my mom. The prints look and are old, probably c 1880 or earlier. Mother added, and then quilted the white triangles and blocks, suggesting that we might consider digging out those stories stashed under your bed. With a little work, the story might be worth salvaging. 

This log cabin king-sized quilt is one of the few quilts I own that my mother bought the fabric and coordinated the colors. She made two of this pattern. I wish I  had an actual count of all the quilts she made. Though friends asked to buy her quilts, she never sold one. For her, just having her family enjoy them was all that mattered. If you write for your own enjoyment, not for the goal of publication, that's right for you. If you'd like to see a book in print but are leery of puttng your name out there in contests, critiques or submissions, take the leap of faith.   

I don't know the name of this quilt, nor do I understand how it's made. There's some folding involved and stitching with floss to make those little rosettes. Anyone know this pattern? Our books have a pattern. A pattern that works. Story structure doesn't mean stories are all the same. Writer bring themselves into their stories, colored by their pasts, then create those twists and turns that make stories uniquing their own. 

 

This double bed size quilt is Dresden plate.
Most of my mom's quilts were queen or king. She also made lap throws, tablecloths using Grandmother's Flower garden pattern, place mats, valances, Christmas tree skirts, even coasters. My brothers have their share of the bounty. Every bed in my folks' house was covered with a quilt.   

 
My husband’s grandmother made the red

   and green Carolina lily appliqued quilt in the forties, one of several quilts she made as wedding gifts for her grandchildren. The batting in this quilt is pulling apart but I see no cotton seeds. As a small boy, my husband liked this quilt best but as the last born grandchild, he never expected it would be his one day. At Christmas we cover our kitchen table with this quilt and top it with plastic place mats. One thing I've learned, the next generation may not cherish what we do. We try not to misuse the old things we have, but we use them.
 

My husband’s mother pieced the top of this double wedding ring quilt, but once he was born, she was too busy to finish. In her later years she was in bad health and paid to have it hand quilted. In my novella “Last Minute Bride” Elise decorated the hall for Callie and David’s wedding reception with a double wedding ring quilt. At the time she had no idea of the pattern’s significance. My mother-in-law Lois was wonderful to me and a special Christian woman. I enjoyed honoring her in this small way by putting her quilt in a book.

Thanks for letting me share some very precious possessions and memories. These quilts are part of my mother, something she left behind. I admired and loved her with all my heart. I'm not a quilter but I like to think my books will leave a part of me with our children and grandchildren. Whatever talent God has given us, we can use it to bless others.  

If you are a quilter, share your favorite patterns. If you own family quilts, share your memories of the women who made them. If you know the name of the quilts I'm uncertain about, let me know. Those leaving a comment will be entered in a drawing for Wanted: A Family and "Last Minute Bride," Brides of the West anthology, along with a $10 gift card to Amazon. So three prizes in one. If you've already read the books and win, share them with someone.   

 

Janet Dean grew up in a family who cherished the past and had a strong creative streak. Her father recounted fascinating stories, like his father before him. The tales they told instilled in Janet a love of history and the desire to write. She married her college sweetheart, and taught first grade before leaving to rear two daughters, but Janet never lost interest in American history and the accounts of strong men and women of faith who built this country. With her daughters grown, she eagerly turned to Inspirational historical romance. Today Janet spins stories for Love Inspired Historical. When she isn’t writing, Janet stamps greeting cards, plays golf and is never without a book to read. The Deans love to travel and spend time with their family.

Visit Janet at her Website: www.janetdean.net and blog: www.janetdean.blogspot.com and group blog: www.seekerville.blogspot.com