I saw a post on another social media site this morning titled “Murphy’s Laws of Quilting.” This post reminded me of my late grandmother and how things were in her home.

My grandmother passed away in 1970, just a few weeks after I started college. Unfortunately I was unable to attend her funeral services because I could not make the trip home. But I remember much about her. One of the earliest pictures that I have of me as a child is one standing in her yard with her. She lived in a small, four room home on a cotton farm a few miles outside the nearest town until just a few months before her death. The home did not have running water and was heated by a wood stove. She had an electric stove for cooking her last few years there but I can remember when she also had a wood stove for cooking. On most days she lived alone although she was visited almost every evening by one or more of her children and most of the family visited on one, or both, days each weekend.

While she had an old pedal driven Singer sewing machine, most of her sewing was on quilts and done by hand. The majority of her living room space was covered by a quilting frame below the single light hanging on an electric wire providing light for the entire room. The frame was suspended from the ceiling by ropes at each corner. She would start her quilting on one side of the quilt and as she proceeded across the quilt the frame could be adjusted so that she worked close to her chair. The final step was for her to sew hems on each side of the quilt. When visitors came, the frame could be raised to make more space in the living room and to protect the quilt from damage.

As far as I know, she did not make the tops of the quilts. Other members of the family made these and took them to her to be quilted which could be a lengthy process depending on how many were waiting to be completed.

I still have one or two of the quilts made on this frame today although age is beginning to take its toll. These quilts were used, not put away for posterity. I think back on spending nights with my grandmother, sometimes alone and other times with cousins. We knew not to disturb the quilts while they were being completed.

I always remember visiting my grandmother as an enjoyable time although I’m sure there were at least some visits that may have been less so. The biggest challenges I remember were pumping water by hand and having to use the “outhouse”, especially in the winter.

I hope you have similar memories of times with your grandparents.