Wrapped in Love
If I spent even a half day sewing I would have such a fit of nerves that a week’s vacation wouldn’t repair them. A woman that shared my feelings about needles and thread once wrote: “I had rather wear a hair shirt than make a linen one.” Amen to that.
I, by some strange circumstance, inherited great-grandma’s quilting frames and generously passed them on to a cousin known to be handy with a needle. Grandma Laura had used those frames religiously, she being a frugal woman that firmly believed when life gave her scraps, she quilted.
Her monthly ladies club met in each other’s houses down here on the creek. Following a huge mid-day meal the group gathered in the front room and passed the afternoon gossiping and stitching on a quilt. It was a common scene in rural communities across the country. Women gathering for what they believed to be neighborly fellowship while they fashioned what can best be described as American legacies.
Quilting was so big that the Kansas City Star published a free pattern each week from 1928-1961. Grandma faithfully clipped and saved them over the years. Where she obtained the Star paper, I do not know as she didn’t subscribe. When she died the box of patterns passed to my Mother and at her passing they went to a neighbor who quilted and she has recently returned them to me. One afternoon I opened the box and looked at the titles of the paradigms which included: Flying Colors, Mexican Star, Broken Sugar Bowl and the four-patch Fox and Goose.
A strange form of chain letter once existed that involved forwarding quilt patterns to other ladies. I found one in Mother’s trunk sent to her in 1935. The instructions were: “Make one block of the star shaped pattern and cut from unbleached muslin, embroider your name and address and send it to the person on the top of the list. The quilt is set together with these blocks. If the chain isn’t broken you should receive 125 blocks.” I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a quilt constructed from chain letter blocks so how successful it was, I do not know.
Quilting did not go out of style with Grandma’s bustle but is still a popular hobby. I recently stumbled across what is called the “Dear Jane Quilt.” The idea for the quilt originated in 1863 with a lady named Jane Stickle. The one I saw pictured had 13 blocks across and 13 blocks down with each and every block a different pattern. It was a study in the variety of arrangement ranging from Flower Garden, Pinwheel, Lone Star to the simple Nine-patch.
Other proof that the quilt is not a thing of the past is the AIDS quilt that began in 1987. The AIDS memorial quilt is the largest on-going community arts project in the world. It was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. The colorful panels memorialize the life of a person lost to the AIDS disease. Displaying the quilt has raised millions for AIDS research.
Many books have been published on the subject of quilts. The volumes range from how-to quilt, price guides and the history of quilting. A focus has recently been on slave labor. A desire for freedom led many of the captive laborers to attempt to secure freedom by following the underground railway. Various authors have written books claiming quilts held secret codes and messages to guide slaves to freedom. These unproven stories are being taught to our children but the theory of quilts being used in the underground railroad has never been documented, that I have found.
One part of our quilt history that is very true was the preparation necessary for a family moving westward to settle in new lands. There were publications available given to the pioneers listing items needed along the trail and to sustain them once they arrived. On the list was one quilt or comforter for each man, woman and child and that every family should bring enough quilts and bedding to last for several years. It was hinted there would be little time for quilting.
Friendship quilts were made for the woman departing westward. Special quilts were used to pack and protect precious china while everyday quilts were left out for bedding. A folded quilt padded the wagon seat and when winds blew the quilts covered the cracks to keep out the choking dust.
Accidents were frequent and women gave birth in conditions that made it even more dangerous. Illness was a constant threat and many were taken by diseases such as cholera. It was once estimated that there was one grave every eighty yards between the Missouri River and the Williamette Valley, Oregon.
Death from sickness and injury was no stranger. Along most of the journey wood was scarce and made it impossible to build a proper coffin. Wrapping the body of a beloved mother, a child or a husband in a hand-stitched quilt provided some consolation for the bereaved. Knowing that the cloth symbolized the family somehow gave comfort when leaving a dear one in a lonely grave along the trail. Somehow it was like wrapping them in love.
