Daily Blog

Why I Love Quilts By Rayellen Smith I don't have a picture of this quilt = so I uploaded a photo of me! Quilts are usually made by women. They are made for a purpose: to look at, to love, to warm and to hold dear. They tell the stories of their makers in each patch and stitch. Quilts are stories without the words. The old quilts are the best- the ones where the fabrics don’t match, or not to today's standards. They evoke the practicality of the making, the struggle in it, and the usefulness of it. I was once asked to repair an old quilt by a neighbor who heard I liked to sew. It was lovely, hand pieced and quilted about 60 years old. It had been used almost daily for a great number of those years. It was well worn from being on beds, wiping up big spills, and covering windows in winter. One look and I knew this would be a lot of work. My husband was afraid if I agreed that the neighbor would just be back for more free work. I did it anyway. The patches were worn and many needed replacing. The tiny quilting stitches were hard for me to replicate since I am not that good at hand quilting. But the work and love that was in this fabric told a story and I wanted to know it. I asked my neighbor to tell me about this quilt. How had she used it? Where did it come from? All she could tell me was that it belonged to her husband and that his grandmother had made it. She had used it when they were first married and her kids had picked it up as they grew. It was a household quilt. But I wanted to know the woman who made it. Where did she live? How many kids did she have? What was her life like - on a prairie? In a city? My neighbor could not tell me. I worked on that quilt many evenings in front of the television watching BBC TV after a 14-hour-day of work and commuting of my own. I took apart squares, added fabric to replace the worn, pulled out stitches and replaced them. It lay over my lap, draping onto the floor as I worked. I caressed the fabric she stitched, I pulled the thread she sewed, I cut and inserted her fabric where she had worked to cut and insert fabric. I tried to understand her- but couldn't. I asked my neighbor to tell me about her - she did not know her story. I asked my neighbor to ask her husband about her-she looked at me funny. I gave up. I finished repairing the quilt - and showed her how to store it. I brought her a needle and thread and taught her how to make further repairs. I wanted to make sure the love in its making would continue into the love in its use. My neighbor won't repair it - but that's ok. She loves it in her way - loved it enough to ask me to repair it - it's in good hands. I love quilts. I love to make them, to think about them, to snuggle them and to learn their stories. I make mine for my family and for babies. I don't have any of my good ones for myself. My daughter and son have them, my Mom has one, my sister has some small ones (she's due a big one). And I don't have time to make the ones I plan. But quilts are women’s legacy. So cheers to the women who make them to keep their families warm in winter, out of practicality, stitch by stitch of love. I love them for the stories, and the women and the good hands they are in.

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Melody Crust - Show 312

Sparrow and I just screened next Sunday's show - Sparrow is now pawing through my box of BLING! - I asked her to stop and she threw me the stink look!

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Ami Simms Mom - Beebe

Dear Ami - Our hearts are with you during this time of incredible saddness. You have fought a brave journey and have made us all aware of the painful process you have had to endure.

The following blog is from Ami's personal site - Friends may share with the family here

Her Name Was Beebe

I have been losing my mom, bit by bit, for at least the last seven years, whenever it was that Alzheimer’s first began its dirty work. I lost the rest of her this afternoon as I stroked her hair and told her how much I loved her. Jennie and I said good-bye as she took her last breaths, hopeful that she heard our voices, felt our caresses, and knew in her heart, if not in her mind, how much she was loved, what a good mother and grandmother she was, and how many lives she touched with her gentle spirit. We told her that she would live in our hearts forever, and she will.

Beebe clung to life longer than any of us expected, surprising two sets of hospice carers over the last 27 days as we kept vigil, first at the Alzheimer’s facility where she had lived for almost three years and at the hospice care center where she died. (Beebe’s obituary.)

I have made Beebe’s struggle with Alzheimer’s a public one. Sharing it has helped me deal with the grief and frustration of losing her over the years. It was also the only way I could think of to fight back. Connecting with others who walk along the same path has given me strength. Knowing that our journey has helped others cope has kept me going. Reading the comments you have written over the last month especially have given me comfort.

My job as personal advocate for Beebe is now over. The part of my brain that had to keep track of her safety and well-being, the minutia of caregiving, can now be filled with other pursuits. Although I will continue to fight Alzheimer’s in her memory, it is time now for me to reconstruct that memory, to focus on the woman who was my mother, not just on the woman who had Alzheimer’s and needed my care.

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December Block: "Red Orchids"

"Red Orchids" by Sue Garman

Congratulations! You are at the end of a twelve month floral applique journey. You should be very proud of yourself. TQS hopes that you have enjoyed and learned while working on this quilt project. This month you will be assembling the blocks, adding the sashing and border strips. And, as always, Sue Garman is there to guide you along the way with clear and concise directions. Enjoy!

To download the December pattern click here.

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Houston 48--DAR c1845-1850

Thank you again to the DAR for allowing us to show a sample of the quilts. If you are in Washington D.C., be sure to visit the museum. Their website is fun and has virtual tours of some of the rooms that are fully decorated from the period.

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Museum
Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Museum
c/o DAR Library or DAR Museum
1776 D St., NW
Washington, DC 20006-5392
Phone: 202-572-0563
Website: www.dar.org/museum

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Houston 47- DAR

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Houston 46-DAR Quilts c1840 Mary Lloyd Key

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Houston 45-DAR Quilts c1806

TQS wants to thank Lynn Forney Young, State Regent of Texas for the Daughters of the American Revolution, for showing TQS around and explaining some of the Quilts. This was the first exhibition in the United States outside of Washington, D.C.

Congratulations to the Texas Society for making this all happen. http://www.texasdar.org/

The quilts were lowly lit to preserve them, so we did the best our low level cameras would allow.

Later today will be a quilt by the wife of Francis Scott Key the composer of the United States National Anthem "Star Spangled Banner".

We know that to our worldwide viewers the 1800's barely qualify as antique, but for quilts it is very old.