Heritage of Quilting

I have always been a creative person. I love making things and take great pride in my creations. I love color and texture and lines. I love math. I have a great eye for color combinations and structure. I love drawing even if I am not great at it. Plus I love sewing of all kinds. All things that help in creating quilts. Add to this I come from a line of women who quilted and sewed. Most likely out of necessity.

I didn't know my maternal grandmother, Mattie Aurora Burnham Borden, she passed before I was born. Yet somehow I feel connected to her through my sewing and quilting. I know my mother said she loved to sew and while she may not have always been a great technical seamstress, she did quite fanciful and stylish work. I saw her workmanship in some square dancing shirts and dresses she had made for my parents.

I feel the same connection for my Great Grandmother Matilda Sackett Borden. I have in my possession a quilt top that she had pieced for my mother's 7th birthday. It is all hand pieced and the stitches are so perfectly even. Great Grandma was born in 1860 and died in 1954. Mom was born in 1927, her 7th birthday was in 1934. Great Grandma was in her early to mid seventies when she pieced that top.  It is butterflies appliqued on to squares with a black blanket stitch.  It was made from some of Mom's old clothes. My mom pointed out some of the fabrics last time we looked at it together. I love this top and promised my mother that I would finish it one day. (I actually found the fabric for the border recently)

I wonder why people quilt and sew. I have taught my daughters that it is a skill that should be learned. I firmly believe that there are many skills that our grandparents did that should not be lost. But keeping a skill alive means actually doing it and well it is not enough to know that a skill is on the endangered species list to learn and do it.

I know my mother never cared for sewing but it was a way for her to save money on my clothes. So her reason was saving money. Sewing clothes is no longer cheaper than buying them. In fact it is more expensive. But I have found that finding modest formals for teenage girls is rather difficult and my daughters benefited from my sewing skills.

I think Mom felt like she had to sew as well. She taught me to sew and always felt that she was not very skilled. She insisted that my sister and I take sewing in school.

My sister loves to sew and I think that she gets joy from doing it. When my niece was a teen she did figure roller skating. My sister sewed all of her costumes including hand sewing on beads and spangles. My sister also had the opportunity to take tailoring classes in college. So she is quite skilled. I am not and I wish I knew more.

I have a cousin (well I have many but I know this one better than the others) who sews and quilts. her work is wonderful. I believe she once said her mother (my Mom's older sister) didn't really like to sew. I wonder does it skip a generation? My daughters don't really like to sew they do it mostly to humor me.

I love to sew and especially quilt and I think it is because it ties me to my ancestors. I also think it is a practical way to be creative even if it is expensive. They did it out of necessity. I do it out of love and creativity. But because I do it, I am their descendant in spirit as well as flesh.

Why do you quilt/sew?