have we lost the heritage of our forefather?

Question

my Grandmother always made quilts for us Grandkid.
she tried to have it done for our first birthday, different shades of blue & red for the boys, and pink & yellow for the girls.
she hand stitched every peace, with these tiny stitches, just like a sewing machine.
I had mine until it finally fell apart, and I always remember her each time I saw it.

my mother always made a remembrance blanket for her Grandkids. out of their their baby clothes.
my Son still has his.

Answer 1

My mother made "9-patch" queen-size quilts for all of her children and grandchildren over the years. All put together by hand and by a 100 year old pedal sewing machine (remember those?). She also made crib blankets, youth bed blankets, etc. For my son's wedding, she made a wonderful story blanket - with hand stitched scenes from his life and from his wife's life...and, between the quilt top and the warm baby's wool blanket, she stitched in 10 $1.00 bills. Told them that no matter what, they would never be broke.

She also made long, full, beautiful flannel nightgowns over the years. They were usually Christmas or birthday presents. I LOVE mine. I'm 67 years old, Mother has been gone for 4 years....but everytime I snuggle down into one of those nightgowns, she's so close I can almost hear her.

My grandmother tatted lace...doily's, arm covers, etc. I have many of her beautiful doily's as does my daughter and others in our family. As a little girl, I remember sitting beside her and watching her fingers fly when she was tatting. She could tat and hold a conversation, tell stories, etc. Remarkable.

While I don't have the interest in quilting or tatting, knitting, crochet, etc....I LOVE to embroider. I try to complete 2 lovely pieces a year and give them to my kids for Christmas. This year, I'm making one for my 16 year old grandson.......

Such pleasure we get from our quilts...looking at them...remembering the cloth, remembering Mom working on them. I know, without a doubt, that when I am gone, my children will get the same pleasure from using them as I always have had.

Answer 2

IN today's age, we are all so busy just making a living, there is little time to make blankets that can be purchased, hand made, for 39.00 in a department store. I had a business, To the Nines Dancewear, at one time, specializing in Ballroom dance competition wear...(never again!) and in spare time, had the brilliant idea to make a kingsize patch quilt. Sewing the top was fun...that is where it ended. Quilting the thing was a nightmare...do you have any idea how hard it is to roll that much padding and fabric up under the throat of a sewing machine near the middle of a big quilt! I had more holes in my hands from pins than you can imagine! There was a time before TV, etc., that people had time in the evening, would sit and knit, or hand sew...those days are gone forever. And let's face it, I have several quilts, all perfectly stitched from my mother, each cross stitch perfect, all quilting lines perfect. and it sits in a cedar chest so it will not be damaged...do you think I would put it on a bed to be ruined! NO way...so what really is the point! Our quilting time is spent on computers. The last quilt panel I made was a 4X6 quilted panel for a friend that went into the AIDS quilt years ago. Again, never again. Love and peace, Goldwing

Answer 3

Although we've had family quilts, the tradition of making them was never really passed down. My best friend...a Brit that does wonderful sewing, knitting, etc...makes the most beautiful quilts and blankets for all the new little babies around here. My daughter in law's grandmother still does the kind of sewing your talking about..just fantastic work. She makes the old-fashioned white cotton slips and dresses for infants, complete with ribbons and smocking. I unfortunately have no such talent, but sure know enough to appreciate it!

Answer 4

What a marvelous keepsake. They are to be treasured. You have been blessed. It is amazing to see the tiny stitches and all the love poured into making the quilt. My sister is into quilting ,but she uses a machine

Answer 5

Last year I made 9 quilts one for each grandchild.I made two large quilts for my oldest boy and their wives.The only grandparent I ever knew was my grandfather Welch.He died when I was 12.I love making things like that .

Answer 6

My great-aunt made my daughter a quilt when she was born. She called it her 'silky blanket' and she carried it everywhere, until it was worn out. My great-aunt's daughter still makes quilts, I have a pink one she made for me, here with me now. Even if I have to buy 'store bought' ones, I like to have quilts on the beds.

Answer 7

Who we are today is a direct result of those who came before us.

In direct opposition to our founding fathers' warnings, God and His principles are being incrementally removed from the public affairs of our nation(s).

America's founding fathers believed that national prosperity and morality were inseparably linked to religious principles.

This fact is evidenced by the following founding fathers quotes...

George Washington: "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

James Madison: "The future and success of America is not in this Constitution, but in the laws of GOD upon which this Constitution is founded."

John Adams: "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion."

Thomas Jefferson: "And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."

I am a Canadian, married to an American. I created this web site to honour Canada's Christian foundation...

http://pilecki.homestead.com/Canada.html

Answer 8

I feel like a lot of our heritage is gone.As old as I am,I have never canned any foods myself.When I was young I helped my Grandmaw all the time prepare her ingredients.Fast and easy are the way.Progress?I wonder.....

Answer 9

I am one of 5 girls and our Mam used to knit all our dolls clothes, I especially loved the "loopy bonnets" (no, they weren't mental,lol) she made, the dolls looked so cute in them, I was so pleased they were in fashion when I had my Daughters, so I got my Mam to teach me how to make them, they were the first thing I used to knit for my babies, and to this day my kids always remember and laugh about those "loopy bonnets"

Answer 10

And most of these dear women did not have employment outside the home. Their "job" was raising the children, keeping house and they spent their afternoons getting together with other ladies to quilt or knit or whatever their chosen activity, to drink tea and have sandwiches. My mother had her "sewing club" and "knitting club" and "friendship circle" with the other ladies.

Those days are a thing of the past, we women now work fulltime, have successful careers, raise our families, my mother would never have dreamed of coaching baseball for her son's team, going to night school to take courses that would help her career or even of working outside the home.

Yet we still manage to make baby blankets, sew some of our kids clothing, put together holiday dinners, cook meals for our families, (not rely on fast food), and participate in recreational activites, that again, our mothers wouldnt have dreamed of doing, go to the gym, drive the kids to all of their activities, mow the lawn, change the oil in tha car, be a loving wife, get dolled up and go out on dates with our mates and of course, have a career.

Its not a matter of losing our heritage, its a matter of changing times - if anyone had suggested i take up quilting as well I might have seriously hurt them.