Saturday, June 9, 2012

The Quilts Left Behind....and Re-discovered

When I was home two weeks ago, I went poking around the attic in our old and now empty farmhouse.  Underneath the attic stairs was a cubby hole, what I'd call a hobbit hole, in which we found several old quilts no doubt sewn by my grandmother Marion Fry Stripling (Bailey).   They'd not seen the light of day in who knows how long, with portions of them frayed, eaten or rotted away.   My grandmother was a N. Georgia mountain woman, so quilting would have been part of her heritage.   I'm wondering what to do with these quilts.  Portions of them are too beautiful to be thrown away.  If anyone can help me find someone to restore these quilts, or parts of them, I'd be grateful.   I'm offering the photographs I made of these too long ignored beauties.


A large hole in the center of this quilt's universe!


Stains and frays....


Time consumes even the most beautiful edges of our creations.


So much like a fireworks exhibition!

 
Though more lasting, if we take care of what women's hands have created.

5 comments:

  1. A gorgeous quilt and well worth saving. I hope you can get help -- if all else fails, I think I could suggest ways for you to do it yourself.

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  2. I remember worn quilts on my bed when I was a child and i think they were my grandmother's but I don't know what became of them. Unlike your beautiful though worn quilt, I think mine were thrown away. I hope you can get yours restored.

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    1. So do I, Glenda. Or at least portions of them. Framed, if nothing else.

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  3. Lovely heirlooms, Kay. You might call Jane Cole (828-452-4317, I think), of the Shady Ladies Quilt Group at Shady Grove UMC in Waynesville. She may know who could do this work. There comes a time when retrieval is our way of going forward, as I just realized once again in Cyprus, but that's another story!

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  4. Oh, Kay, what a treasure. You are so fortunate to find these beautiful old quilts. This is indeed a gift from your grandmother. They are lovely quilts.

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