There won't be so much to do after the fruit is all taken care of and then I can rest and piece me a quilt as I have a nice lot of pieces and need another dark one for common wear. But I am not going to hurt myself if it don't get done at all. Lucy Dickson (Ina's mother) writing to her from Drain, Oregon, Feb. 13, 1904
Here we are – 107 years later – and my little great-grandmother's words connect her to quilters as though she were speaking today. Never mind that we can't quite tell who's making the log cabin quilt and who's the "nice quilter." We can still relate. We know the ever-popular quilt patterns (flower pot and log cabin). We understand her need for just the right fabric ("old style calico" and "some green" purchased in town). And we'd love to see her stash of dark pieces which she dreams of piecing into a quilt "for common wear." And isn't that just the way! Before we've finished the two projects we've got going, we're already thinking of what we'll do next. It looks as though Lucy thinks she'll be able to get to that quilt by next fall ("after the fruit is all taken care of"), but note that she lets herself off the hook. She acknowledges that she might never do it.
Leah asked if Grandma Ina made quilts. Yes, she did. At least, she makes reference to piecing quilt tops. From the correspondence I've read, including the above, it seems as though pieced quilt tops were given as gifts, leaving the recipient responsible for quilting it or not. It seems to me that a quilt top is rather useless unless you finish it somehow, even if you tie it. But it begs the question: Are you really a quilter if you just piece tops?
I assume Ina had quilts on her beds, but only two were left in the house, and those were old ones used between the mattress and springs. They were both patchwork quilts made from pieces of wool, such as might have been cut from worn out men's coats or trousers. A little decoration was added by means of embroidery stitches and a few short pieces of lace and on one quilt, as a point of interest in all that drab fabric, just one small piece of beautiful red velvet. Both quilts were heavy and tied rather than quilted. Who knows? Perhaps one of those was Grandma Lucy's quilt "for common wear."
My mother told me that Ina had pieced a quilt for each of her grandchildren – except me. In real life I wasn't close to Grandma Ina, who was nearly 80 when I was born.
I am not a quilter. I have never finished a single quilt. But I seem to keep trying. Besides the "vintage holiday" quilt I'm currently making, I have another at the point of finishing and the pieces cut for a doll quilt. And even though I have yet to build the successful quilt, just like Grandma Lucy, I have the next project in mind. Frankly, I find the work a bit tedious and sometimes I wonder how it is that women (and some men) down through the ages have made beautiful – and some not so beautiful -- quilts. It demands accuracy and that seems daunting to me, but I ask myself – Am I not capable of being accurate, of cutting in a straight line, lining up edges, and sewing a straight quarter-inch seam? Some days the answer is no. Quilting presents many ways to fail, but I happen to know at least eight people who legitimately call themselves quilters, four of them members of an art quilt group making original quilts. One is a man. One is my childhood chum at the "last resort."
So what is it that inspires us to quilt? KW
[This photo card presents an odd grouping dated 1902. Clockwise from top left: Lucy Dickson (quoted above); Julian Dobson; Grace Mason (Julian's niece); and Ina Dickson Dobson.]
7 comments:
Well, Kathy, for me the inspiration is my love for the geometry of the patterns for pieced quilts, the beautiful work that I can create with my hands, the rhythm of the work, the feel of the fabric in my hands, the colors - oh those colors - of the fabric. Need I expound anymore - can you tell that I LOVE-LOVE-LOVE quilting? Somehow all the fabric/fiber arts speak to my heart.
You know I always wanted to be a quilter because of my great grandmothers and their work. I love fabric, love to feel it, love to look at it. I love putting different fabrics together and creating something altogether new. I bought my quilting machine so that when my quilts were done, I could say *I* made them.
I do know ladies who call themselves "piecers" because they love to piece and then send their tops out to be quilted. I admire them for their skills and for their honesty. One in particular is such an incredible "piecer"--I could never hope to match her skills. But I truly love each of the quilts I have made, and look forward to making more.
Kathy, just because you have never finished a quilt doesn't mean that you can't. This may be the "one." Quilting is a lonely art and that's why quilting groups are formed. Doing anything with others of like mind gives you comfort (let alone encouragement). A quilt is sort of like gardening. The cold dreary winter is spent "dreaming" about next summer's bounty as the gardener explores seed catalogs. The order is placed. The seeds arrive. The seeds are started indoors. Then the hard work begins when spring arrives. Till the soil. Plant the seeds. Weed the garden. Play tag with wild animals as they munch for lunch. Harvesting your crop is a long way down the line from catalog cruising. If you can garden, you can finish a quilt.
You may not have been given a quilt made by Ina, but you have something more valuable. Her words inside the letters she wrote.
I really appreciate the comments here. As a newcomer to the genre, I am undecided about quilting. I am attracted by the vintage element, desiring to experience a retro craft in an up-to-date way, but at the same time I have real reservations. Expense is one of my considerations. While I can afford to do whatever I want, I'm conservative enough to question the investment in fabric and equipment when I'm uncertain of my interest. (Have you seen what those plastic rulers cost?!!) I have space constraints as well. There is not a long-arm in my future.
Probably my strongest desire is to decorate my home with my own creations -- to sleep under a cover that I made myself.
I characterize myself as a self-starter but a slow-worker, and while I could benefit by some instruction, I hesitate to get involved with a class or a guild.
Kathy: Remember the old saying, "Nothing worth doing is easy." You need to stop doubting yourself. Ina and the women in her generation didn't have fancy plastic rulers, either. When Ina first started quilting, she might have wondered if she'd ever get just one quilt finished. Most of us think we are "slow workers." We are with ourselves 24/7 and know our own habits (and are also our own worst critics). Nothing feels so good as having an accomplished friend give us advice (when we ask for it) on a project. No one says that you can't come and go from a quilting group or rather, visit once in a while.
Kathy, a question about the photos. Was Grace Mason the daughter of Mirinda Dobson. I have notes that Mirinda (one of John & Lucy Dobson's 10 children) married Jesse Noah Mason and had 4 children, Blanche (b: 1876), Vern (b:1879), and 2 others, names unknown.
Thanks so much for your encouragement, Leah. I'll think about what you have said.
I can only say that I think Grace Mason was Mirinda's daughter. The card belonged to Myrtle Dobson and was dated 1902. Grace is identified as "Grace Mason, Dad's niece." I have no proof.
Post a Comment