Grandma's Quilt

In a world full of plastic, fast and cheaply made items, we sometimes lose perspective on how easy “things” are for us to acquire now. We want a new blanket for our bed, we simply drive to the nearest Target and pick out one. We bring it home, slap it on our bed and when we crawl in at night feel the warmth of our new purchase. During the short time ago that was my father's childhood, the quilt that kept him warm at night was painstakingly and lovingly made by his mother. My grandmother, who died before my birth, sewed all her children's clothes and bedding. My father was the youngest of 10 children, so this was no small task. The quilt that has always been my favorite was made from flour sacks. Some pieces are so tiny, I would have probably just trashed them. My grandmother, however, didn't live in my fast and easy world. She saved every tiny scrap to create this hand stitched quilt. I remember it on my bed throughout my childhood as well. It was almost like an “Eye Spy” game to me – every time I'd look at it I'd notice another interesting fabric. This quilt is extra special – the small hand embroidered hand print is my father's hand print. She stitched “1955” and a number “4” in the center of the hand. My father's hand was so tiny when he was 4 – he was little once too, and thanks to a grandmother who must have always wanted to remember the size of his tiny hand, now I get to witness it too. This quilt is nothing short of a work-of-art to me. I hope to one day leave something this special for my future grandchildren, and that they will appreciate “handmade.”

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