I love this piece and your family heirloom quilt! I come from a long line of southern women who made quilts and I cherish each one I own! Quick story to share; I was contacted by a women via ancestry.com whose 2nd great grandmother was a sister to mine. I have a quilt my great great grandmother made and shared a pic with her. She then shared a pic of one she had and they both contained some of the same fabric! Priceless look into the past. These sisters lived through the civil war and were of Scottish descent. My quilt has large hand appliquéd tulips on it. I took it to the Antique road show where they valued it around $450 priceless to me.
Wow, Kimberly! Six degrees of separation is more like three, right? I've wondered about the monetary value of this one. A number of the pieces are deteriorated/-ing, so I'm sure that would matter. I've seen some online for as low as $150 and as high as $8K. I would at least love to get it in front of someone who could tell me more about the stitches and motifs. That said, I love it just as it is and without knowing more than I already do.
Thank you so very much for reading and sharing this amazing story here.
Try taking it to a local quilt shop….they can direct you to some people that can help ID some of the stitches and the provenance! I’m excited for you. I took mine to a quilt shop and they ID’d the civil war era pattern immediately. They also showed me in the seams where the original color was red and due to limited dyeing techniques back then that fabric is brown today. Very cool!
Fascinating! I'm not sure we have a "local" quilt shop in my small community, but I'm sure I can find something/someone nearby. Thanks for the nudge, Kimberly, and the shared excitement.
Thank you, Rona. I'm not sure what it is about those tiny eyeglasses that is so captivating. There are many more complex designs in the quilt. Perhaps it is their simple utility.
Thanks for this rich and thoughtful remembrance, Elizabeth. I have a quilt made from the floral ribbons from the funeral of my husband's uncle, a beloved physician who died early from ALS, and another made of the various rough wool patches of my banker grandfather's worn-out suits. May I recommend to you and your readers the 4-part Netflix mini-series Death by Lightning which tells the story of Garfield's assassination, but really brings to light his remarkable marriage and family. What an under-appreciated man he was! I'm sure his untimely death was as significant to those who loved him as Kennedy's was to my generation. In the words of Faulkner, "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
Those sound like beautiful quilts, Nancy, and so meaningful.
I'd heard about Death by Lightning and assumed it would come up in the comments. Since I've not watched it, it didn't feel right to mention it myself, but I've heard very good reports about it. I've had this essay on my radar for quite a few years. I waited for a "significant anniversary" and decided 145 was good enough. :)
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your comment. "It's not even past." ‼️
Breathtaking, literally, when I scrolled down to see the whole quilt. I love the way the essay zooms into a piece of ribbon, and then out again to the bigger picture. Well-stitched, Elizabeth!
I pondered your follow-up question in a strange direction: What do I WANT to be preserved that would tell a stranger something about me? Still working on that one.
Aside from my writing (too much for any stranger to want to wade through), the only item with my name on it is the hammered dulcimer I built from a kit. The stranger would rightly imagine I am an avid music lover. What the stranger would get wrong? Assuming some level of proficiency on this instrument, and a level of woodwork mastery, as I built it from a kit of pre-cut pieces. Not much craftsmanship. Lots of gluing.
Your piece turns me in the direction of wanting to play that instrument more, and to work together with Molly and Busy on our own crazy -- something we have thought about over the years. But using a sewing machine. I mean, who has time for all that stitching?? (More to the point, how did Elizza, working between the 'upper and lower millstones' of her own life?
Thank you, Stew. I am happy that writing this piece also prompted me to capture the quilt's beauty as best I could, archival work of a sort.
I might have seen your hammered dulcimer somewhere along the way--sounds beautiful!--and I'm certain we had a kit of our own once that never made it out of the box before we found a new home for it. So, good for you!
Loved the shift in how you thought about the one question. I think that's a question we should all consider, and maybe it would affect how we direct ourselves as we move along in life. "What of me do I want the world to have when I'm gone?"
Oh my gosh, that is a work of art. It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe those meticulous stitches. This would have been a difficult time for this woman (me) with much less talent!
Oof, I can relate to the "less talent." I know how to reattach a button or hand stitch a hem, but that's about the extent of my sewing skills. I have a lot of respect for those who have that ability. So useful, and clearly also beautiful. Thanks, Teresa.
Thank you, "Flyleen." My uncle (mother's brother) was a genealogical devotee, and , frankly, I always found it a bit boring. On the other hand, attaching the research to stories like these works a charm on me. A whole new way to understand the past.
Beautiful quilt, beautiful story. My paternal grandmother was an extraordinarily gifted seamstress—per family legend, she found a needle and thread on the floor and used fabric scraps (her parents owned a fabric shop) to make a dress for her doll when she was three years old. She tried to teach me to sew many times, with no success, but as I was writing about her in my memoir, it occurred to me that although I could never reproduce her even, tight stitches, I knew how to spin a yarn.
There's something so powerful about the way these stories—and these treasured objects—get passed on.
Oh...spinning a yard as a form of stitching things together! I adore that--and you for sharing it here. That's quite a story about your grandmother. I guess she was what they call a natural talent. I am not. I've made many a Halloween costume with scissors and a hot glue gun.
I know a quilt has a finite lifespan, and it makes me feel good knowing the story might live on for a bit longer.
Thank you, Irena. Always appreciate your presence here.
Those tiny spectacles clinched it for me; that is one special quilt! What an honor for you to have inherited it. I love how you can write about anything and make it both engaging and universal, Elizabeth. Keep up the great work!
What a wonderful heirloom. I love crazy quilting, but I have to admit I did not know this history of it — or know it reached back so far. That’s fascinating. I also love the description of your mother’s intentional storage and use plans built into the house! Great weaving of stories. Somewhere in between…
For me, one of the best parts about writing pieces that tap into science and history is what I learn and get to share. I didn't know most of this either!
One of my mom's favorite stories was how her father designed a house in the late 1920s with closets in every bedroom, so unusual back then. So I guess she carried on a tradition.
Thanks for your attentive reading, Amy. Makes me happy knowing someone else had a tiny little geek out alongside me this week. LOL!
Looking at it, thinking about it and what went into its making, makes me want to pick up needle and thread and do something similar myself.
And I so love it that even though she couldn’t read or write, Elizza left this extraordinary legacy. With this, she did say something very important about her time on the planet.
My mother used to sew and taught my sister and me. I remember the old treadle sewing machine!
Kay, I had every opportunity to learn to sew but never expressed interest, and no one ever encouraged me in that direction. I find that rather astonishing now, but I can't blame them for not wanting to coerce a kid who wasn't naturally inclined. I hope you follow your nudge of inspiration!
Thank you so much for spending some time here this week.
What a gorgeous quilt, thank you for sharing! My Mom, Aunts, grandmothers, and those that came before were all quilt makers too. I am fortunate to have a few of them in my house that I treasure.
Beautiful tribute to your namesake! Ned and I have two quilts from his family, created during the late 1800s. They contain a lot of black fabric and his Gram had been told that after Lincoln’s assassination, the country wore black in mourning and those clothes later ended up in rag bags, which were used, among other things, for quilts.
How interesting! I've never heard that before, Roe, but it sounds quite plausible. I imagine those quilts are beautiful. Black is not a quilt color I've seen often. Do you have them displayed, or stored for safe keeping?
Thank you, Elizabeth. We are all connected to our pasts, even if only on a cellular / energetic level. I enjoy the process of trying to fit some of the pieces together. Thanks for coming along!
I think so, too, Karen. And writing this piece encouraged me to pull it out of storage and put it on one of our extra beds. It's not suitable for sleeping, but this way at least we can enjoy looking at it.
I love this piece and your family heirloom quilt! I come from a long line of southern women who made quilts and I cherish each one I own! Quick story to share; I was contacted by a women via ancestry.com whose 2nd great grandmother was a sister to mine. I have a quilt my great great grandmother made and shared a pic with her. She then shared a pic of one she had and they both contained some of the same fabric! Priceless look into the past. These sisters lived through the civil war and were of Scottish descent. My quilt has large hand appliquéd tulips on it. I took it to the Antique road show where they valued it around $450 priceless to me.
Wow, Kimberly! Six degrees of separation is more like three, right? I've wondered about the monetary value of this one. A number of the pieces are deteriorated/-ing, so I'm sure that would matter. I've seen some online for as low as $150 and as high as $8K. I would at least love to get it in front of someone who could tell me more about the stitches and motifs. That said, I love it just as it is and without knowing more than I already do.
Thank you so very much for reading and sharing this amazing story here.
Try taking it to a local quilt shop….they can direct you to some people that can help ID some of the stitches and the provenance! I’m excited for you. I took mine to a quilt shop and they ID’d the civil war era pattern immediately. They also showed me in the seams where the original color was red and due to limited dyeing techniques back then that fabric is brown today. Very cool!
Fascinating! I'm not sure we have a "local" quilt shop in my small community, but I'm sure I can find something/someone nearby. Thanks for the nudge, Kimberly, and the shared excitement.
Wow! Elizza, who could not read or write, was a resourceful and imaginative artist. This quilt is a treasure. I particularly love the spectacles.
Thank you, Rona. I'm not sure what it is about those tiny eyeglasses that is so captivating. There are many more complex designs in the quilt. Perhaps it is their simple utility.
To me they seem to be looking out at the world and the viewer.
Yes! And I'm not at all surprised you see them that way.
Thanks for this rich and thoughtful remembrance, Elizabeth. I have a quilt made from the floral ribbons from the funeral of my husband's uncle, a beloved physician who died early from ALS, and another made of the various rough wool patches of my banker grandfather's worn-out suits. May I recommend to you and your readers the 4-part Netflix mini-series Death by Lightning which tells the story of Garfield's assassination, but really brings to light his remarkable marriage and family. What an under-appreciated man he was! I'm sure his untimely death was as significant to those who loved him as Kennedy's was to my generation. In the words of Faulkner, "The past is never dead. It's not even past."
Those sound like beautiful quilts, Nancy, and so meaningful.
I'd heard about Death by Lightning and assumed it would come up in the comments. Since I've not watched it, it didn't feel right to mention it myself, but I've heard very good reports about it. I've had this essay on my radar for quite a few years. I waited for a "significant anniversary" and decided 145 was good enough. :)
Thanks so much for reading and sharing your comment. "It's not even past." ‼️
Breathtaking, literally, when I scrolled down to see the whole quilt. I love the way the essay zooms into a piece of ribbon, and then out again to the bigger picture. Well-stitched, Elizabeth!
I pondered your follow-up question in a strange direction: What do I WANT to be preserved that would tell a stranger something about me? Still working on that one.
Aside from my writing (too much for any stranger to want to wade through), the only item with my name on it is the hammered dulcimer I built from a kit. The stranger would rightly imagine I am an avid music lover. What the stranger would get wrong? Assuming some level of proficiency on this instrument, and a level of woodwork mastery, as I built it from a kit of pre-cut pieces. Not much craftsmanship. Lots of gluing.
Your piece turns me in the direction of wanting to play that instrument more, and to work together with Molly and Busy on our own crazy -- something we have thought about over the years. But using a sewing machine. I mean, who has time for all that stitching?? (More to the point, how did Elizza, working between the 'upper and lower millstones' of her own life?
Thank you, Stew. I am happy that writing this piece also prompted me to capture the quilt's beauty as best I could, archival work of a sort.
I might have seen your hammered dulcimer somewhere along the way--sounds beautiful!--and I'm certain we had a kit of our own once that never made it out of the box before we found a new home for it. So, good for you!
Loved the shift in how you thought about the one question. I think that's a question we should all consider, and maybe it would affect how we direct ourselves as we move along in life. "What of me do I want the world to have when I'm gone?"
What a beautiful time capsule ! 🥰
Thank you, Melody. Some folks signed their crazy quilts. Can't help wishing my family had done that. Great to see you!
Oh my gosh, that is a work of art. It’s gorgeous. I can’t believe those meticulous stitches. This would have been a difficult time for this woman (me) with much less talent!
Oof, I can relate to the "less talent." I know how to reattach a button or hand stitch a hem, but that's about the extent of my sewing skills. I have a lot of respect for those who have that ability. So useful, and clearly also beautiful. Thanks, Teresa.
A bit of history, both personal and big picture. You are a gem, EB.
Thank you, "Flyleen." My uncle (mother's brother) was a genealogical devotee, and , frankly, I always found it a bit boring. On the other hand, attaching the research to stories like these works a charm on me. A whole new way to understand the past.
the more I hear about history, the more our crazy world doesn’t seem quite so unprecedented.
Even the inability for us to learn from the past is not unprecedented. 😅
Her/our/his-story…
remembrances from remnants.
Crazy-quilt-making!
Isn't it amazing how much meaning we can convey in small snippets? ☺️ Thank you, Marisol.
Beautiful quilt, beautiful story. My paternal grandmother was an extraordinarily gifted seamstress—per family legend, she found a needle and thread on the floor and used fabric scraps (her parents owned a fabric shop) to make a dress for her doll when she was three years old. She tried to teach me to sew many times, with no success, but as I was writing about her in my memoir, it occurred to me that although I could never reproduce her even, tight stitches, I knew how to spin a yarn.
There's something so powerful about the way these stories—and these treasured objects—get passed on.
Oh...spinning a yard as a form of stitching things together! I adore that--and you for sharing it here. That's quite a story about your grandmother. I guess she was what they call a natural talent. I am not. I've made many a Halloween costume with scissors and a hot glue gun.
I know a quilt has a finite lifespan, and it makes me feel good knowing the story might live on for a bit longer.
Thank you, Irena. Always appreciate your presence here.
Those tiny spectacles clinched it for me; that is one special quilt! What an honor for you to have inherited it. I love how you can write about anything and make it both engaging and universal, Elizabeth. Keep up the great work!
Thanks, Don. It is always my hope to do that, and I'm grateful to hear that you feel it's working.
What a wonderful heirloom. I love crazy quilting, but I have to admit I did not know this history of it — or know it reached back so far. That’s fascinating. I also love the description of your mother’s intentional storage and use plans built into the house! Great weaving of stories. Somewhere in between…
For me, one of the best parts about writing pieces that tap into science and history is what I learn and get to share. I didn't know most of this either!
One of my mom's favorite stories was how her father designed a house in the late 1920s with closets in every bedroom, so unusual back then. So I guess she carried on a tradition.
Thanks for your attentive reading, Amy. Makes me happy knowing someone else had a tiny little geek out alongside me this week. LOL!
This quilt is so beautiful, Elizabeth.
Looking at it, thinking about it and what went into its making, makes me want to pick up needle and thread and do something similar myself.
And I so love it that even though she couldn’t read or write, Elizza left this extraordinary legacy. With this, she did say something very important about her time on the planet.
My mother used to sew and taught my sister and me. I remember the old treadle sewing machine!
Kay, I had every opportunity to learn to sew but never expressed interest, and no one ever encouraged me in that direction. I find that rather astonishing now, but I can't blame them for not wanting to coerce a kid who wasn't naturally inclined. I hope you follow your nudge of inspiration!
Thank you so much for spending some time here this week.
I will definitely follow that nudge!
Thank you for the inspiration, Elizabeth.
And thank you for your posts.
They are always so interesting.
What a gorgeous quilt, thank you for sharing! My Mom, Aunts, grandmothers, and those that came before were all quilt makers too. I am fortunate to have a few of them in my house that I treasure.
Such keepsakes! I bet they're beautiful. Do you also sew, Donna?
Good to see you here. Thanks for stopping by.
I don’t sew…yet! It’s in the forecast though.
Beautiful tribute to your namesake! Ned and I have two quilts from his family, created during the late 1800s. They contain a lot of black fabric and his Gram had been told that after Lincoln’s assassination, the country wore black in mourning and those clothes later ended up in rag bags, which were used, among other things, for quilts.
How interesting! I've never heard that before, Roe, but it sounds quite plausible. I imagine those quilts are beautiful. Black is not a quilt color I've seen often. Do you have them displayed, or stored for safe keeping?
What an astonishing quilt, Elizabeth, and what a thoughtful, loving story you stitched around it.
Thank you, Elizabeth. We are all connected to our pasts, even if only on a cellular / energetic level. I enjoy the process of trying to fit some of the pieces together. Thanks for coming along!
That quilt, and the beautiful embroidery--what a treasure!
I think so, too, Karen. And writing this piece encouraged me to pull it out of storage and put it on one of our extra beds. It's not suitable for sleeping, but this way at least we can enjoy looking at it.