some of the quilts i finished this morning..... then the afternoon was spent working through piles of fabric and cutting them into squares. remembering childhood. a memory of buying fabric with my grandmother. and watching in awe as the woman cutting the fabric was able to glide the scissors through the fabric, slicing it apart without the opening and closing motion of the scissors. now i do that every day and remember this woman's technique. without realizing, she passed it on to me.
and tonight i've spent the evening sorting through squares of fabric, finding the ones that work best together, lining them up, hundreds of squares that will make up 4 little quilts. while, tennis, my favorite momentum builder, is pulling me along from the tv. i love tennis. i love quilts. i love remembering my little grandma. it's been a good day.
You have brought back memories I had forgotten. The Drapery shop with floor to ceiling shelves full of fabric rolls, the long counter where the rolls were unwound, and then as you mention, the women slicing through the cloth without opening the scissors. A perfect straight cut, fabric neatly folded, and then parcelled up in brown paper complete with string and the final flourish a loop to hold it by.
ReplyDeleteoh the picture of this in my mind is a lovely way to start the day. thank you rosemary. i wrap my quilts in brown paper and string for my customers....but now i'll need to figure out how to make a handle. the other day a little 4 year old skipped out the door with his brown paper wrapped quilt his mom had bought him for naptime. a handle would have been the perfect touch!
DeleteThanks for this blog; it triggered my memories of women sitting around a quilt frame working hard, telling tales and oh...such laughter. Your quilts are lovely.
ReplyDeleteoh carol....when you mention the laughter, my eyes fill with tears. yes, i remember being wee and surrounded with women working and chatting and laughing. thank you!
DeleteMy grandmother was also very skillfull with scissors, I remember. Now I don't work for fabric but for some words of short verses and I feel it's like making quilts.
ReplyDeleteoh, your poems are quilts. and i hope to make something like a poem with my quilts. we are kindred spirits, haricot....
DeleteSomewhere in our old attic.. I have a quilt I started when my daughter was around 12.. never finished it. I must try and find it. I have long since let my sewing machine go. Its made with old pieces from Nina's dresses and clothes.. I had forgotten about it.
ReplyDeleteA lovely post , your quilts are awesome. .. nice memories too of your grandma.
Happy days
val
thank you val. i think it's so wonderful that they had the experience of putting pieces of your daughters dresses together into a quilt. to me, as soon as you have worked on it enough to have the experience and the memory and the feel of it, then it is finished. it's a wonderful intimate and tactile experience.
Deletehave a wonderful day...
such a beautiful post,
ReplyDeletethank you laurie.
DeleteI love your quilts, and the image of you cutting up the fabrics and putting the pieces together like a poet does with words.
ReplyDeleteit was the poet, haricot, who put that image together. i love it too.
DeleteBeautiful quilts. I think it's so sweet that you remember your grandma and the way she cut her fabric.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend! :)
thank you kris. i hope your weekend is good too.
DeleteYour quilts are wonderful! You are so brilliant with it! From the story you are telling you are completely "in yourself" while quilting and that is one of the most precious gifts in life. Happy Saturday to you! Christa
ReplyDelete