a quilt made by my great-grandmother

I never really knew my great-grandmother. She died when I was still young. I hear stories that she was quite fierce. I do know that she was poor and faced a lot of tough times, especially as a young wife and mother in the 1920s. Later in life she made a few quilts as a hobby, and I have two of them in my collection.

Here is a photo of my great-grandmother Pearl. This was most likely taken on her wedding day, or around that time. I have seen photos of her much later in life, but I love this one where she looks so young and her demeanor is so determined.

Quilting was not her thing. By today's standards, her stitches are a bit wonky, even messy. She would have made these probably in the late 1950s, and in her day, quilting was probably seen as work. Even with these wonky stitches, I still love this quilt. It makes me feel closer to a woman I never knew... closer to those women who came before me and endured so much. Their quilts are something to remember them by, to know they once lived, loved, laughed and cried. And made quilts.