BOXES OF BLESSINGS

When my grandmother moved to a nursing home before she died in 1988, my mother put me in charge of sorting out the sewing room. In a box, I came upon this piece of fabric.  Upon closer inspection I realized it was the skirt to my childhood dressing table.  

I don't remember my mother sewing anything else during my lifetime except I remember her struggling to make this with the matching curtains.  How my grandmother ended up with it, I don't know.  Needless to say, I brought it home with me.  Just like my grandmother, I'm a saver of dibs and dabs for a possible future project.  It is now time 33 years later; and I'm including some of this fabric in my "blessing boxes" quilt. I used it in this block and for the binding.

All of my grandmothers and my mother were influential in my life. I was fortunate to spend time with them all. Great-Grandmother Delong was an emboiderer, a collector of beautiful dishes, and purchased the family 1927 Steinway piano.  Great-Grandmother Maddex was always tatting and had such a gentle nature. I also knew my step-Great-Grandmother Haines. She was a talented Sunday painter with an artistic temperament; I was fasinated with her. Grandmother Billingslea embroidered, sewed, quilted, and was the saver of all those dibs and dabs. Grandmother Haines crocheted, wrote poems and stories, and quoted many bible verses from memory.  And, my mother knitted and was so intelligent; a college graduate with a long career with the Federal government. She could play the piano and gave me and my son the gift of music by making sure we both had years of piano lessons. Our son now has the family Steinway.  Mother instilled in me that I was able to achieve anything I desired to do.

A 10-year old me with
 4 of my grandmothers.

My 19-year old mother and me.

I have been fortunate to inherit a myriad of physical things in boxes of blessings from these women including photos, books, linens, quilts, paintings, dishes and furniture (not in a box!) including the piano. It's fun to have these things in our home to see everyday, but it's the memories that are important. One special memory is when Great-grandmother Delong was bedridden, I would sit on her bed; and we would look through this post card box at all of the beautiful, early 20th century cards that had been saved.

I'm sure some of my inspiration for my quilts, especially borders, came from this experience. And now my Boxes of Blessings quilt has been made in honor of these strong, talented women.

The Stats:  "Boxes of Blessings", 2021, 26"x26", Paper pieced, Machine quilted, 51 different fabrics.