This week at quilt group I was asked to bring an “antique” quilt to show the group. I asked my Mother if I could borrow one of my favorite quilts that she has on display year round. It was a wedding gift, made by my father’s mother, Rosella Calder Smith. My parents were married late in the summer of 1956. The choice of the leaf pattern was perfect for the occasion in many respects. Grandma had someone do the machine appliqué (sadly we don’t have her name), but we have every confidence that she did the piecing, layout and hand quilting herself.
This quilt has been used from the very beginning of my parent’s marriage and right on through raising five children. My Dad remembers using it to stay warm in basement apartments while going to school at Utah State and my Mother said she would use it for just about every possible need where a warm quilt would come in handy. For me, I can’t remember ever not having the “leaf quilt” in my life. If we were sick, in body or soul this quilt was always around to warm us up.
When I took the quilt to QQQ’s our very own Quilt Historian, Jeanne Fetzer was there and looked it over. Here is her report-
· The fabrics are from the 1920’s and 30’s and likely purchased from the Montgomery & Ward Catalog, possibly in bundles
· The primary color used was “Nile Green”, common to the period
· It was quilted with a wool bat, easier for needling
· Hand quilted, machine appliquéd
· Gave instructions for how to care for it (her recommendation was to just leave it be and not worry about the red stains, treat it extra special and not to fold it on top of its self)
I hadn’t realized how much I loved this quilt until I took the time to write about it. I think it might be one of my favorite objects in the world. Thank you Mom for letting me borrow it, more than that, thanks for letting us use your treasure while we were growing up.
