My Grandmother's Quilts

As you know, my grandmother died at the end of January at the age of 98, just days before her 99th birthday. She was a quilter most of her life and made quilts for her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren and her great great grandchildren. Many of us brought quilts that Grandma had made for us to the funeral home and displayed them in the visitation room. Grandma made all types of quilts--pieced, appliqued, and whole-cloth embroidered. This embroidered oak leaf and acorn quilt was made for my husband and I as a wedding gift when we got married 21 years ago.
Here is a close up picture of the embroidery and quilting. All of Grandma's quilts were hand quilted. She had a frame which she would set up in her living room and always had a quilt project underway.


This appliqued quilt belongs to my cousin, Carol. There is also some embroidery on this quilt. Here is a close up of one of the flowers.

This "Grandmother's Flower Garden" pieced quilt was made for my cousin Cindy as a wedding gift. We used this quilt as the background for the "5 generations of hands" photo that I took last June.
These two embroidered whole-cloth quilts belong to my Aunt--my Grandmother often added prairie points to the edge of her quilts. The quilting stitches are small and even in this quilt as you can see in the 2nd photo.





This tulip applique quilt was made for me when I was a teenager. My grandmother was a "green" quilter and often used clothing that was worn out to cut pieces for her quilts. My quilt has a white backing. She made this same pattern for my brother but his has a wild flowery print for the backing.

This pieced quilt belongs to my daughter. Grandma gave it to her when she was around 5 years old. By the time Grandma made this quilt, her piecing was not quite as accurate and her quilting stitches were not as straight and even, but my daughter and I both know that there is love in every stitch and this quilt is treasured as much as the other quilts that Grandma made for us.

This double wedding ring quilt belongs to my cousin, Anne.
This one also belongs to Anne.

I am not sure who owns these two quilts. They were also on display at the funeral home.
When Grandma was not quilting, she was knitting or crocheting. All of us had afghans and doilies made my Grandma as well.