Most of the fabrics are from the 1960s, and some are from the 70s. Scraps are from clothing my mom and I made, the constant stream of aprons and kitchen curtains my mom made for the south-facing window, and scraps I inherited from a good friend's family scrap pile.
I am reminded of a quilt that a student brought to one of the first quilt classes I ever taught. It was a simple 9-patch quilt, made in the 1870s or so by a 13-year old girl as I recall. There was a map of the quilt with details of every fabric - Aunt So-and-So's dress, and so on. One of the fabrics had this story: The girl and her sister had been dressed in their brand new best dresses for an event, and then wandered off and did some strawberry picking. The result, as you might expect, was strawberry juice stains that wouldn't wash out. The mom made the girl put those stained patches in her quilt, as a reminder of the lesson learned!
I am reminded of a quilt that a student brought to one of the first quilt classes I ever taught. It was a simple 9-patch quilt, made in the 1870s or so by a 13-year old girl as I recall. There was a map of the quilt with details of every fabric - Aunt So-and-So's dress, and so on. One of the fabrics had this story: The girl and her sister had been dressed in their brand new best dresses for an event, and then wandered off and did some strawberry picking. The result, as you might expect, was strawberry juice stains that wouldn't wash out. The mom made the girl put those stained patches in her quilt, as a reminder of the lesson learned!
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Left block
Outer: a party dress made by my mom for me, and a matching one for my baby doll, about 1960
Inner: dress my mom made for me, 1966 (see photo below)
(Story: My mom thought it would be nice to perk up the dress with purple buttons, picking up the color of the smallest flowers in the print. My middle school art teacher had me stand up in front of the class one day while he explained complimentary colors. My mom was so proud, and retold this story often.)
Right block
Outer: the first clothing I ever made for myself, a sundress, in about 1965, so I gave it the place of honor in the center of this quilt.
1966:
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Outer: kitchen curtains
Inner: blouse, mid or late 1960s
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Left block
Outer: an Egyptian print, summer blouse made for me by my mom, mid-1960s when I discovered my interest in archeology
Inner: a mom blouse, 1960s
Right block
Both: fabrics I used as a beginning quilter, late 1970s
c.1980:
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Outer: my wonderful curtain fabric, around 1969
Inner: a blouse I made for myself, around 1977
To the left: two more fabrics from my beginning quilting years, late 1970s.
c. 1980:
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Left block
Both: blouses my mom made for herself, mid-1960s (see photo below)
Right block
Outer: an apron.....I think
1967:
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Left block
Outer: apron, 1960s
Right block
Outer: my Halloween Raggedy Ann costume, about 1962
Above on the right
a summer blouse made for me by my mom, 1964
a summer blouse made for me by my mom, 1964
1964:
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Outer: a party dress my mom made for me, and a matching one for my doll, 1960
1960:
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Left block
Outer: a dress I made for myself, 1966 (Here's a photo of me sewing this one!)
Right block
Outer, even more kitchen curtains
1966:
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Top left block
Outer: paisley blouse my mom made for herself, 1960s
Top right block
Outer: kitchen curtains
Middle left block
Both: clothes my mom made for me, early and mid 1960s
Middle right block
Outer: sundress I made for myself, early 1970s
Bottom left block
Outer: beginner quiltmaking fabric, late 1970s
Top left block
Outer: blouse, late 1960s or early 1970s
Top right block
Outer: dress my mom made for me, 1966 (see photo below)
Bottom left block
Outer: early quiltmaking fabric, late 1970s
Bottom right block
Outer: beginner quiltmaking fabric, late 1970s (see photo below)
Inner: from a favorite store-bought blouse that wore out, mid-1970s
1966:
c.1980
I hope you've enjoyed this little walk down Memory Lane with me. If any of you have quilts like this, with scrapbag fabrics that you remember, I recommend writing your own documentation. And if anyone would like to share it with The World, I'll be happy to publish a guest post for you!
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