Sunday, August 11, 2019

Quilt inventory for Janette



My sister in law Janette in NC asked me to inventory her quilts - here ya go, sis. 

1.  Quilts made by "Two" - Una Fisher Brown - our great grandmother - in West Virginia.  

One of Two's sisters also quilted, and they would collaborate.  Two would piece the quilts, and both of them would work on the quilting.  


Nine patch made by Two in the 1960's.  Hand pieced and quilted.  A real treasure!  This is the quilt that inspired me to make my very first baby quilt for Noelle in 1992.  This might also the quilt that, famously, Janis used as a beach blanket without Mary Lou's approval:).  (Or, the beach quilt might have been an old four patch, current whereabouts unknown).





Broken dishes, made by Two in the 1960's.  A set of two twin quilts.  For years, Janis kept these two quilts on the twin beds in her upstairs guest room in Gaithersburg.  Janis was not a quilter but she loved quilts! 




I don't know the origin of this beautiful Basket quilt.  Two or one of her sisters might have made it, or it might have been one of Grandma Mary Lou's "rescues":


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2.  Grandma Mary Lou's quilts, Denver CO.

This was given to Grandma Mary Lou, maker unknown.  It is an excellent Sunbonnet Sue in perfect condition.  Hand appliqued, with embroidered details, and hand quilted.  Grandma considered it one of the best quilts she owned.




This is the first quilt Grandma Mary Lou made.  In 1976 with the Bicentennial there was a renewed interest in traditional crafts in America, including quilting.

This Patriotic quilt was hand quilted (and I believe machine pieced?).   It was made for grandson David Poth who would have been about 9 years old.







Needs more repair:




Shades of the nine year old today;).  


Fence Rail by Mary Lou.  In the early 80's grandma learned how to machine quilt - 


This quilt was made for Janis.  If my memory serves right, Janis requested these colors, maybe helped pick out the fabrics?  I remember it hanging over the railing up in the bedroom hallway in Gaithersburg.


Bow tie made by Mary Lou - I think - not 100% sure.


Also by Mary Lou, but I don't know details: 


Irish Chain by Mary Lou, 1992, machine pieced and quilted, for David and Janette 


Thank you for labeling your quilt Grandma! 



Store bought quilt made from ski hats - Colorado - Grandma gave us each one: 


Four patch on point, the sweetest baby quilt, made by Mary Lou,  machine pieced and quilted, given to Janette when Megan was born, 1993: 


A "rescued" crazy quilt from Grandma Mary Lou: 



There are other quilts made by Two and Grandma Mary Lou, with Uncle Frank (Mary Lou's son), me, cousin Kathy, etc.  

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3.  Quilts by yours truly, Cynthia, MA, Japan - all machine pieced and quilted: 

Square in a square, "tattered" quilt -  (I've made 100 of these it feels like) for Janette, around 2013.  One of my favorite quilts to make.  



Sawtooth Star for Megan: 


Butterfly quilt for Alyssa, 2000, made in memory of Grandma Janis: 



Alyssa survived childhood cancer.  I made this for her in 2003 while she was undergoing treatment.   I included something to represent each person/pet in her family:






And now she's a college student and my quilting buddy!  I feel so blessed to have a niece who quilts!  The next generation of quilters.  Look at this quilt she made Janette, her Mom:


Quilters (so far) circled... and surrounded by quilt lovers. 



xo
Cynthia

13 comments:

  1. What a treat to see a retrospective of nearly 60 years of family quilts, Cynthia. Most all look like they're in great shape, too (except the poor patriotic one for David). Seeing the 9-patch reminds me of its humble lovably. What's not to love about a 9-patch quilt!

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  2. This is a great show. My quilting goes back many generations but since I was the bad kid living in Japan, they were all passed down to my siblings and I don't know where they ended up. I am beginning to realize that labels are an important part of any quilt. No granddaughter quilters yet but both of my sisters quilt.

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  3. What a wonderful quilting heritage you have. So nice to be able to document all those quilts!

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  4. That is really wonderful!! I'm sure your family appreciates the history!
    Love 9 yo David and his quilt!! LOL

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  5. This is wonderful...surely wishing I had Two in my family..but I did have One...my grandmother...BTW I live in Charlotte...hmmm

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  6. What an amazing collection of quilts, but I'm going to dream about that sweet nine patch! Wow! Good for you for taking the time to document these and the people who made/love them. And thanks for sharing them.

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  7. What a wonderful documentation of your quilting genealogy. Your grandma was very smart to take the time to include labels!

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  8. This was way cool. I especially loved the quilters geneology chart at the end, and then I went back and read it again, now I had all the people squared away in my mind. Fun to see this heritage--I don't have much, but I just did find out that one of my gr-gr-grandmothers was a quilter, but of course, nothing is extant. Great post!

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  9. What a lovely show of these wonderful quilts. These are my favorite kind of quilts - the ones made with love for a family member or friend.

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  10. A great documentation of your quilting heritage.
    I don't know of any other quilters in my heritage besides my Mom--not that they didn't exist, we just don't know about them.
    I am curious about the nickname "Two". :)

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  11. Ahh.. so sweet to see the quilt genealogy written out for posterity. Wonderful line-up of quilts. It's funny how some quilts become so dated looking and others are almost timeless! I have a Sunbonnet Sue quilt from my grandmother. She made so very many quilts and there are only a couple still around!

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  12. What a wonderful collection of family quilts and great documentation! Love that you and your niece are quilting buddies :)

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  13. What a great family quilting story! Thanks for sharing!

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