Pieces of the Past

In my last blog I talked about this quilt top created by my maternal grandmother, Dora Winkler Schott, and possibly my Aunt Dorothy Schott. What amazes me the most about this top is how all the pieces line up perfectly and the tiny hand stitches that hold them together. I use a rotary cutter and have difficulty getting each piece exactly the size of the one before it. Not to mention I have a fancy sewing machine to join them together and a 1/4 inch foot attachment to make sure my seams are exactly the same width. Not to mention the hours spent trying to choose the perfect fabrics and paying a pretty penny for them also. Grandma's pieces were made up of old clothing no longer wearable, probably tableclothes, etc., cut with a pair of scissors and sewed together with an array of threads which I think are embroidery threads because of the thickness and the different colors used. I can picture in my mind her living room and the exact spot where the old radio sat. I can see her sitting with papa and Aunt Dorothy by the radio in her rocker, sewing her quilt together. I can't think of any antique past down to me that belonged to her that would mean as much as this quilt top does. Quilting has definitely come a long way since Grandma's day but remains a labor of love to all of us quilters.