A long time ago, before you were born, there was a young bride like you. She had found the man she would spend the rest of her life with and she made plans to marry. She was younger than you are now but she knew what she wanted out of life. She had been raised on a farm, and that was the life she knew. That would continue to be her life. But now she would work alongside the man that she loved and help him in all that he did. She milked the cows, she picked the corn, she pegged tobacco. And at night, after he had gone to sleep, or on rainy days when there wasn’t anything else to do, she quilted.
She had quilted as a young lady. Her mother taught her and her sisters just how to get their stitches tiny. The smaller the stitches the better the quilt would hold up. Back then they didn’t quilt for keepsakes, they quilted for warmth. A quilt was a cheap, warm, blanket. They weren’t revered the way they are today. Quilting kept her hands busy when she was too tired to do anything else, because she was taught to stay busy.
And as her children came, and as they grew, she made them quilts. Sometimes she would take a set of sheets and quilt the design on those. If she was in a hurry she might have “thrown together” a tack quilt. If a quilt wore out she would just use it as a batting for a new quilt. Nothing went to waste. She pieced quilts out of old clothes or scraps from new clothes. There were many a winter night when the family would sit around and visit in the living room where the quilt was in a rack being stitched. Everyone sat around the quilt, some tried their hand at stitching. But always they sat and visited. At bedtime the quilt was hoisted back up to the ceiling where it was out of everyone’s way.
Now this girl turned woman did not like to piece a quilt. That was tedious to her. She had sisters who enjoyed that aspect of putting together a quilt. So she would trade off with those sisters. They would make a quilt top and she would quilt it. She would keep one and give one. When her daughters got bigger she passed on her love of needlework to them. Her oldest would sit for hours and hours and embroider. She particularly liked to do her stitching on designs. These designs turned into quilt squares that her mother would then quilt.
And that’s how it was done in your family. Your grandmother was that young bride. She made your first baby quilt I’m sure. And it was her dream that she would make a quilt for the bride that you someday would be. Her daughter was your aunt. This is your aunt who babysat with you for hours and hours while your Mom and Daddy worked to give you better things in life. This is the aunt who was probably first to change your diaper or feed you cereal when she wasn’t supposed to or give you Sundrop when she really wasn’t supposed to. This is the aunt who never had a child of her own but had more children love her than she could ever know. And your daddy was sitting around that quilt in the living room night after night, getting his homework done or telling his mama what his older brothers or sister did to him that day. He was one of her favorites and she loved having him around and hearing about his day in school or his day at work or how his children were doing. He may have even picked up a needle and stitched just a little on a corner of the quilt she was working on because he was taught to stay busy.
And so baby girl, now you are going to be the young bride. You have found the man you want to spend the rest of your life with and you have made plans to marry. You have thought long and hard about what you want out of life. And you plan to be with the man you love and to help him in all that he does. So those of us who remain, those who have watched you grow, want to give you something that your grandmother, your aunt who has gone before, and your daddy could not give you, we want to give you a part of their love. This quilt, whose design was stitched by the daughter of your grandmother, was quilted by the friends of your grandmother, and inspired by the love of that favorite son, is being given to you by the aunts and uncles that remain, to love, to cherish, and to keep you warm. It is so very special to us that we can do this for you and hope that you value the love behind the warmth that this quilt represents. Please cherish it always, as you are always cherished.
For my niece Grace Elder, from her Uncle Joey and Aunt Sue, Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Cynthia, Aunt Mary Ann and Uncle David, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Steve, Aunt Dianne on the celebration of her upcoming wedding.
