Is it a case of the maker keeping the quilts until she died, or are they quilts that were given to the woman you bought them from? Special quilts are often packed away for safe-keeping by misguided recipients, who are afraid of using them for fear of ruining them. This is why so many of the old quilts we see are such works of art, the everyday quilts were used up, worn out and thrown away, but the masterpiece quilts were kept safe and only brought out on rare occasions for show. For all we know this quilter may have made it clear that this is what she expected to be done with these quilts. I belong to several quilting groups and some of the ladies would be horrified to learn that the special quilt they made for a daughter or grand-daughter was being used every day. I personally don't feel this way and tell my "giftees" that they'd better wear out any quilt that I give them, but it's not an uncommon attitude.

Why would the family sell them? Lack of appreciation for the work involved, bad feelings about the giver, lack of storage space, just aren't "into" quilting, a family that's broken up over time so that family feeling has been diluted...lots and lots of reasons. The good news is that they now belong to someone who DOES appreciate them. Can you post pictures somewhere?

Annie

I'm with your wife on this...so many things in life are sad, and with split families being more prevalent, it is fast becoming sadder! Thank you for saving the quilts and offering a bit of love that the original seamstress probably can feel!!

I agree....
My neighbor had some quilts made by her husbands grandmother. They had been used, but gently...and were signed. And after he died, she called an antiques dealer and sold them for a song...I asked why she wouldn't offer them to her daughter....her answer was "she doesn't care about that stuff"...her daughter was heart broken that her mother had sold the quilts....signed by her great grandmother...with whom she shared a name!
I have a sampler on my bedroom wall. Carefully framed, glued on the backing with archival glue, acid free the whole thing, hung away from any direct light etc etc. Dated 1823 and signed with initials. I bought it in a big box of assorted linens at an estate sale in a little town south of here. I knew it was in the box when I bought it ( for $10) and inquired of the laywer in charge of the estate to see if there was a family member present. Showed to the couple who said..."Nope...we don't want it!"
I treasure it! And can't imagine not wanting something that your mother treasured so much...
But the thought did occur to me that perhaps the family I bought it from also bought it at a sale. Whenever it happened, someone parted with a precious family treasure.
I often wonder about the people who loved these pieces I now own.
Linda C

This isn't a quilt story, but somewhat similar.

A couple of years ago, I was in a local thrift shop that I check out regularly. Had found some vintage linens - very lovely and hand-embroidered - and was standing at the checkout cashier with them. Behind me in the line was a man, but he was behaving in a way that was starting to 'creep me out' - getting a bit too close & way too interested in what I was buying...!!!!! After a bit of that, he finally spoke to me - the gist of the conversation was that he believed he recognized the linens as ones that he and his siblings had recently dropped off at the thrift shop after having cleaned out his deceased mother's house. No one in the family wanted the linens, but he was delighted to realize that they were going to a good home!

Each time i use the pieces (small tablecloths), I think of that family - with every treasure there is a story, sometimes we know it, sometimes we have to imagine it.

Margaret

i recently cleaned out a deceased relative's home and was blown away by all the stuff that never got used. things packed away in boxes, things in cedar closets, in the attic, basement -- everywhere.

my house is now loaded with this stuff that i will treasure for as long as i live.

My grandma has always packed away special things, too. If my uncle's second wife gets hold of them before the rest of the family arrives, we can definitely see her throwing away all that old "junk". She's already thrown away the vintage formals that Grandma had in a closet--much to my dismay!

Annie

Thanks to all for the kind responses Perhaps I was venting a bit. When I thought about it I remember a Hummel figurine that a great aunt had given me when I was a child. Recently I looked at it and wondered why I had kept it all these years when in fact I really didnÂt care much for that aunt and even less for Hummels. She looked down on not only me but the whole side of my family. I decided to sell the thing but as a rule gifts from family and friends I tend to hang on to. Things donÂt mean the same thing to everyone and I paid a fair price for the quilts so it may have been a matter of money as well. As for never using items thatÂs great for collectors and dealers alike somewhere down the line. IÂll post a pic of one of the quilts one of these days when I figure out how itÂs done. I need to find a good way to hang them without damage as well, any suggestions?. The really remarkable thing about them is the quilting itself. So many precise and tiny stitches that make up a separate pattern. For example the applied butterflies have companion butterflies quilted into the pattern. As for passing things off to my kids. One daughter would treasure anything that I gave her and the others would either sell it or not take care of it. ItÂs not a personal thing just a matter of whatÂs seen as important. Eventually it all becomes somebody elseÂs treasure or trash someday.

It sounds like they are in excellent condition and good candidates for hanging. Cut an 8" wide strip of washed muslin or other 100% cotton fabric that's nearly as long as the quilt is wide and sew it into a tube. Handstitch the tube to the back of the quilt with the stitches pretty close together (6-8 per inch) and trying to get your stitching into the batting if possible. Now you have a hanging sleeve through which you can run a 1 x 4. At the ends of the tube where the wood strip would contact the quilt you might want to baste a patch of muslin as well so that the quilt doesn't come in contact with the wood. The acids in the wood can cause staining and damage. If you want to completely protect the back of the quilts you can baste muslin over the whole back but that might be overkill. Hang them out of direct sunlight and rotate them regularly to minimize stress on the fabric. To clean, vacuum them with a piece of nylon stocking or netting over the end of the nozzle to prevent it from sucking the quilt down the nozzle.

Annie

Thanks for the tip Annie and nice web page. I may decide to display one or two of them. We plan to give one as a gift to my mother-in-law. I have no sewing skills of my own so I would not want to attempt stitching anything. I would have to hire someone to do the work. We sometimes use decorative quilts as a daytime bedspread which we remove and fold at night. I could always resell them on Ebay but IÂm going to keep the extras for gifts. IÂve given away many nice quilts to friends and relatives and everyone I gave one to still owns and cherishes it.

Incidently, I went back to the womanÂs house that sold me the quilts to pick up some furniture I had also bought and she informed me she had a cedar chest full of more quilts buried under a bunch of boxes in the closet.. She is moving soon and said sheÂd call me when her children arrive to help her move and they uncover them. I told her that if nobody wants them to call me. It floored me at first that nobody seemed to care for them yet they were all taken such good care of. I think she was happy to get them off her hands because she was tired of storing them. I think now that she was happy to see that they would find a home where they could be appreciated, cared for and used. I donÂt know what kind of house she plans to move to but the one she was in was very small and had no place to display much of anything large. She might very well be afraid that her children would not take care of them at all and they would be destroyed and she sure seemed like she could use the money. The truth is, once I thought about it, that there are many reasons people part with treasured things other than simply not appreciating them

In an interesting twist I was talking to a quilter at church yesterday and she declared that her quilts are NOT to be used. She feels that she's put too much time and effort into them to have them put "at risk". So, who knows, maybe that's what happened her. Ruth also takes very good care of her quilts, but she almost never gives one away and only has two of all those she's made for herself that she uses.

Annie

Interesting topic. My grandmother was an award-winning quilter in our area. She made quilts that were to be used, and quilts that were treasures to be hung. She did a family history quilt that shows the ancestoral homes in England, crossing on the Arabella, and evrything up to the house I was born in. Amazing quilt.

I just finished the top to my first quilt. I've been working on it for 5 winter's. I'm making it for my bed, to use. The cats and the dogs will lay on it and get their fur all over it. That's OK. If I want to make one to look at and not use, I'll do that.

I already have too many things tucked away in drawers that are too good to be used daily.

It all comes down to the classic face off between form and function. Is it art or is it something to keep you warm at night. Giving someone a gift as big as a quilt which would take up the better part of an entire wall were it to be treated as art could be a little presumptuous and the chances of it winding up in a closet forgotten would be good. My grandmother gave me a quilt when I was young. She would have been very angry had I not put it to use during those cold Colorado winters. It did eventually get worn out but the memory of having that thing wrapped tightly around me all those chilly nights will never wear away. It could be lying in a closet, wrapped in plastic and forgotten and IÂd own a quilt that never kept me warm. IÂll take the memories any day.

Years ago my Mother gave me a quilt that had been made by my Grandmother (or perhaps my Great-Grandmother). I remember sleeping under it as a child. The binding is worn and some of the very small pieces are a bit tattered, but I proudly hand it up in my house. When my husbands grandmother died I was given a box of assorted tatting, crocheting and embroidery that Auntie had made (my husbands Great-Great Aunt) because no one else wanted them. I have my Mothers things now. Women's art has been under appreciated for so long, perhaps because it was practical, a table cloth, or an apron. I display some of my treasure and hope one day to make a quilt of my own using the bits of lace and anti-mascaras that I can't bear to part with. I embroider myself, as well as weave and other fabric art, and I hope my children will treasure my work, or pass it on to someone who will.

Crazy woman....I share your sentiments....but just for the record the word is "antimacassar". Macassar was a hair oil much used by gentlermen to keep stray whisps in place. An antimacassar is a small doily sort of thing meant to go on a chair back to protect the upholstery from the oil. They soon became decorative items inthenselves and were made as "chair sets"....as in asking grandma what she was making and the answer was "a chair set" which included not only a piece for the back but also for the arms.
And then there were "sofa sets" with 3 of the back pieces and 2 arm pieces.
More than a few years ago, I bought a box of linens that contained a chair set to be embroidered, the cross stitch and lazy daisy stitches marked and directions for the edging, but never done.
And my grandmothers and great grandmothers used to tat and crochet pillowcase edging.
Womens art indeed! As part of my interest in old needle work I have a "string holder" which is a celluloid thing-ey meant to hold a ball of crochet cotton with a sort of loop so you could hlod it on your wrist. My grandmother was never without her "work" in an apron pocket to be picked up while waiting for the water to boil!
Linda C

My maternal grandfather had two sisters who lived in West My God Virginia. As a boy, we frequently visited our aunts. One, Clarissa, was very fond of me and my bright red hair.
When my wife and I married in 1962, my aunt, then 85, hand sewed a quilt for us for a wedding present. We have used it many times and it is still in excellent condition. Our three adult children have all expressed that they want it left to them.

When I was a teenager (young and very foolish), I used my Grandmother's hand-stitched quilts as beach blankets. At the time I had no concept of their value and would give anything for the chance to do that over again. It is still a source of sadness for me.

Unfotunately, you see that alot. I wonder about old photos of people, they were someones' family, why didn't they want them? You never know the case.
I have many treasures from my family, I would never part with them. They may not mean much to someone else, but I have fond memories of these items when I look back on my childhood.
At least there are folks who appreciate these items, and will take care of them, in todays' society, most things are disposable, and I don't just mean material things, it's very sad.

There are many sad and/or practical reasons why people get rid of things-----I personally have a difficult time getting rid of anything (just ask my hubby)
When my grandchildren went to college I made each one a quilt--nothing fancy but I wanted my g-kids to use them--they seem to enjoy them especially the boys---one g-kid is 6ft.5 in so I made his especially large and he loves it
Here is Max wrapped up in the quilt and me--LOL
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Florence

One of my favorite quilt recipients is my best friend's son-in-law. He was always jealous of the fact that his fiancee had a quilt made by her grandmother and no one in his family had ever made a quilt for him. For their wedding, I made them a queen-sized quilt, but gave it to Andy with instructions to share it with Jen. Now when they travel, Jen takes her quilt and Andy takes his. I certainly have no regrets about making a quilt for this guy!

Annie

Not always, but sometimes I feel such a sense of sadness when I go to estate sales in modest homes and the presence of the person who lived there is still so strong that I feel icky pawing through their belongings. (although many "estate" sales are just garage sales in disguise...) I have two stuffed animals (one is a Sleepytime Puppy with jingle bells in its ears, clearly a toy for a baby) from the fifties that were obviously well-loved and I couldn't stand to see them tossed aside. They had been kept for so many years, for children long grown-up and gone away. BAW!

Kittysmith----I know exactly how you feel----the estate sales tear my heart out--I haven't been to one for a long time!!-did you buy the Sleepytime Puppy ???

Florence

We live in a neighborhood build in the early 60s and as such, many of the older residents have passed on. Presume family has removed what they want and the remainder is left for an estate sale. By and large it is furniture, yard tools, maybe some dishes, lamps, etc, Also gives an opportunity to see the home and get a feeling of how these folks enjoyed their homes. Sometimes it's older couples moving to a retirement complex and are getting rid of items and furniture they don't have room for or they prefer to buy new. There are companies that produce estate sales and I think they bring items with them from other sources.

I have purchased many estates over the years and I have quite a few stories to tell of obsessive compulsive collectors or people that could never throw anything away. Boxes of both trash and treasure stacked to the ceiling with pathways through the house. ItÂs spooky going through someone elseÂs lifetime of possessions. You learn much more about them then you might care to know. I remember one estate in which hundreds of items were wrapped in tissue, then brown paper, tied with string and labeled as to what they were. There were items bought new and never opened, there were many valuable antique items and then IÂd find a package labeled "Panty Hose" (used) or "Cigarette Packages." (Empty) Inside an antique dresser were half empty bottles of Lithium which explained a lot. The worst ones are when you realize the person could no longer take care of themselves and were living in filth and no one intervened.

By the by as to my earlier post. I decided to give my mother in law the Iris quilt and sell the butterfly. I think dealing with all of the O.C. estates has turned me off of collecting anything. The fun for me is in the finding.

Great story Floyd!