This evening these adorable girls from the neighborhood came over.  Their Achievement Day class had an assignment to visit someone who could talk to them about quilts and ancestors.  I fit that bill pretty well!  We had a great time talking about why women make quilts and how they are made, piece by piece, block by block, with love.  I told them the reason I make quilts is because quilts are a way I can leave a hug behind after I’m gone.  I love it if each of my descendants could have a quilt I made with my hands and with my heart, with them in mind.  When I’m not here anymore, they will feel me wrapped around them, loving them still.

I showed them a few of the quilts I’ve been finishing up this week, and then took them upstairs to see a whole lot more.We looked at a few antique quilts and at quilts my grandma made for me.  The glorious one spread on the bed is an antique quilt I purchased.  There is no name on it, so I am a proxy family member for the lady who stitched it all by hand.  I feel her love, even though I don’t know who she was.

The Sunbonnet Sue quilt was made by my Mennonite quilting grandma, Elsa Laemmlen.

I showed them how I put blocks together to make quilts like this Spot quit.  You may remember my FTC problem and the fact that I’ve made more than 20 of these for future grandkids and great grandkids!  The girls had fun spotting things in the little blocks as I called out each item to search for.The flat silver box under this quilt holds my grandmother’s quilt patterns.  We found the one she used to make the Sunbonnet Sue blocks.

I showed them my quilt room in the basement and showed them how fabric is cut.  Then they played with some small blocks, creating their own designs.  We had fun.  These girls talked about quilts they had in their homes and the women who made them.  Quilting is a good thing.  It brings generations together in loving ways.