Scrap Quilt: Love In Every Stitch

Earlier this week I was reading about how Rachel at The Simple Life of the Boreings was preparing her leftover material to use in a scrap quilt and sharing how each fabric held a memory. It made me think about my very own scrap quilt. And while I didn't make it and I don't know the stories behind each scrap of fabric, it is something I treasure because of the two women who made it. This quilt was a team effort by both of my grandmothers with their work completed decades apart. My dad is the youngest of 6 children and my mom is the oldest of 4. And my dad is 5 years older than my mom. All of this means that there was quite an age gap between my two grandmothers. When I was just shy of 4 my family moved from Illinois(near my mom's family) to Alabama where my parents bought the family farm from my dad's parents. I spent the next 5 years being totally doted upon and spoiled by my paternal grandmother. We built our house close to theirs and I spent much of my time there. I was a picky eater and she would make me pancakes any time of the day I wanted them. She and I had a ball together. She died in 1979. I was 9 years old. I used to lie in bed at night and gaze into the night sky and talk to her. I missed her so much. I still do. I know when I get to heaven she's going to be right there waiting on me and I cannot wait to just give her the biggest hug and tell her how much I love her. When the family was going through her things, there were some quilt tops that she had sewn but never gotten around to quilting due to her health. My mom took those quilt tops and stored them at our house with the intention of having them quilted one day.

In 1984, my mom's parents moved from Illinois to Alabama and I got to spend a lot of time with my maternal grandmother. I feel so blessed to be able to have a relationship with her as an adult. There is a much different dynamic to the relationship than you have when you are a child I think. I called her Mamo as a child but now she is G.G., a title she was given when my sister and I had kids. G.G. is one of my favorite people in the whole world. We're both terrible about calling each other, but when when we do manage to get in touch with each other we just talk and talk and laugh and laugh. She has spunk! I just love to be around her. And wouldn't you know it, she quilts. She gave me a quilt for my 16th birthday that I literally just wore out. I loved that quilt and snuggled in it night after night and washed it time after time until it just fell apart. She has also made quilts and given them to my girls and I love that they have those treasures.

So a few years ago, my mom surprised my sister and I with our scrap quilts. My mom had her mom quilt the quilt tops that my dad's mom had made and gave them to us as gifts. I can't even tell you how much I love my quilt or how special it is. And while it's just a thing, it represents the love of both of my grandmothers as well as my mom. And I love that is is so random and crazy. The fabrics are from the 70s and are bold colors, prints, patterns and totally polyester which makes it so unique. It is something I will always treasure because of the love in every stitch.