One thing I’ve become expert at over the years is making something wonderful from things that others might simply throw away. We have a long tradition of finding beauty in heels of dry bread, leftover cake and scraps of fabric. I want to share with you my favorites, one a day. Here is today’s.
Something Beautiful #1 – An American Quilt
One of my favorite quilting books, full of patterns from my grandmother's day.
Quilting has its roots in pioneer America. Woven cloth was imported from Europe or laboriously produced by hand in the home and it was precious. Every last scrap found a use. Dresses that became stained or discolored were cut apart, the pieces turned inside out and then resewn, or cut down to make clothing for the smaller people in the family again and again. Bearing in mind that old truisim “Use it up! Wear it out! Make it do or do without!” even the smallest scraps found a use, stitched into beautiful patterns and pictures to bring cheer & joy on cold winter nights.
The patterns have wonderful names that tell us so much about the lives of the women who first made them – Road to Kansas, 54-40 or Fight, Tumbling Blocks, Run Around the Mountain. And until very recently, when quilting became an art form rather than a handicraft, you could almost tell the state of the nation’s economy by the number of quilts being made. Quilts have been most popular in hard times. My grandmother’s generation made quilts in the Great Depression. My generation revived the art during the economic downturn of the 1970s, when gas was high and unemployment lines in New England went clear around the block. Something beautiful, made from what would otherwise be Thrown Away.
Today, I’m watching How To Make An American Quilt, courtesy of NetFlix. If you have a Wii, they’ll send you a disc you can use it to stream movies from NetFlix directly to your TV. NetFlix is also included in XBox Live.
Which would you choose? The lover or the friend?
