{The Bed Turning} Double Wedding Ring

This is what I see when I think "antique quilt." It's one of the quilts  I slept under as a teenager. There was  a second double wedding ring, but it was passed on to another family member. I feel bad about contributing to their wear and tear, but if it hadn't been seen and loved it wouldn't have nearly as much meaning.  

It was made by Great Great Grandma Rowell, who died in 1935.

I'm not quite done yet -- stop by again tomorrow afternoon for more family quilts. 

{The Bed Turning} Dresden Plates

This quilt was made by my great great grandmother. I grew up hearing that it was from the turn of the century, but look at those fabrics...

Those are 30s prints, aren't they?

Be sure to stop back tomorrow afternoon for the double wedding ring. 

{The Bed Turning} Flower Baskets

This is another of the quilts I remember from early childhood, the ones that formed my definition of "quilt." It was made by Great Grandma Walters. 

The poor thing is just worn out. We cringe to look at that now, but if it hadn't been out and on a bed, it wouldn't have had such an influence on me. Some of the flowers have frayed away except for their edges.

I couldn't get a decent picture of the hand quilting against that white fabric, but it's there and it's amazing. This is why I don't hand quilt. I thought the standard was for those perfect teeny tiny stitches.

It looks like someone added borders later to make the quilt larger.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow afternoon and see the quilt that Grandma Walters's mother, Grandma Rowell made. So much for my not thinking there weren't quilters in the family! 

{Bed Turning} Grandma's Red and White Quilt

The fabrics are so faded you can barely see them, and the quilt itself is so tattered it's painful, but it has the best story and that makes it my favorite. 

When she was in second grade, Grandma ran away from school. She went to the top of a hill near her house and refused to come back down.

Aunt Clara (who would have been Great Grandma Walters's sister, if you're keeping track of the family tree) made this quilt to bribe her. 

That story has got to be one of the best quilt stories ever. (I might be just a little biased.)

There's no batting between the layers. I think that was is there is flannel. If this quilt was made in a hurry, I wonder if that's all Aunt Clara had on hand or if this was what she always used.

Be sure to come back tomorrow afternoon. I've got more quilts to show you! 

{Bed Turning} Prairie Sunrise

This quilt was made by my Great-Grandma Walters. It's tied, so go ahead and call it a comforter if you're a purist, but it's a quilt to me. 

I don't know what that block is. The closest thing I can find in the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns is Prairie Sunrise, but the color placement and pieces are quite a bit different and that one isn't set on point. These are.

If anyone does know what block this is, please let me know because now I'm curious.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow afternoon for the next quilt.

This post is linked to The Chicken Chick, Pieced Pastimes, 

{The Bed Turning} Flower Pots

I don't know much about this quilt. It came from my dad's mom's estate and we think it must have belonged to Aunt Molly. (That's her steamer trunk up in my sewing room.)

All of the flowers and pots are the same prints and the stems are embroidered.

What really blows me away about the quilt, aside from that gorgeous mint solid, is the hand quilting. Those circles add so much texture, and I love their placement and how they don't cut through the flowers.

It's hard to get good pictures of hand quilting and the individual stitches, but luckily this quilt doesn't have a white backing.

Be sure to come back tomorrow afternoon for the next quilt.

The Quilts I Grew Up With

Before I really fell in love with quilts and started quilting, I had some definite ideas about what "real" quilts were -- double wedding rings, baskets, and Dresden plates. There were some tied polyester quilts that Grandma had made for my sister and I, but even though I knew darn well that they were quilts (okay, technically comforters, since they were tied, but she thought of them as quilts) they sure weren't what came to mind when I heard the world "quilt."

There weren't any quilters in the family when I was growing up, except for Grandma and her polyester squares. That's in no way a criticism of her sewing skills -- her talent was for clothing, which she was absolutely amazing at.

We might not have had active quilters, but we had quilts, the ones that formed my understanding of what quilts were and how they should look. When Mom called and told me that she'd taken all of them out of the closet to air on the guest room bed, I headed over to take pictures.

And now I'm going to show them off to you. Each quilt deserves its own story, so starting tomorrow I'll be posting one a day until I run out.