Life's Patchwork

I love patchwork quilts. I could own them in every color of the spectrum. Although my mother and my grandmothers didn't quilt, previous generations did, and we had a wealth of quilts around. These quilts of yesteryear featured heavy winter fabrics, rich colors, and thick wool batting. These workhorse quilts are a testimony to the frugality, creativity, and industry of the women of the past.
As we lived in a rather old (Victorian Era) home with a temperamental gravity furnace, we were accustomed to cold floors and drafty open rooms. Quilts were a mainstay for snuggling up on the couch with a book, or for layering on the old iron bedsteads in the ever chilly upstairs. One of my favorite memories of quilts was crawling in between the sheets and burrowing down into the depths of the huge bed and feeling the weight of the many layers of quilts over me. It was so comforting to feel protected in that cocoon of weighty warmth. When I was sick and had been home in bed all day, Mom would come in to plump my pillows and straighten the bed and she would shake the quilts and "make the bed" with me in it. I felt a great surge of glee as she covered me completely with those bastions of warmth and comfort. I would giggle and wiggle around and she would tell me to "be still." She managed to make me feel better and loved at the same time.

Pioneer families experienced cold like many of us will thankfully never know. While quilt making was, and is, an artform; they knew that the survival of their families, especially their small children, depended on their ability to keep them warm. Children were bundled into beds with siblings and covered with life shielding layers of warmth. They may have also inserted a brick or a rock that had been warmed in the fire.

But quilts were not just a defense against winter's icy fingers. They were also memory preservers for those who made them. They may have been made to commemorate an event such as a wedding or a birth. The scraps of fabric may have had held some significance as many times they were cut from a favorite dress or outfit. These quilters were practicing recycling and a form of scrapbooking while fiercely protecting their families from a silent enemy- the cold
Most of today's quilters are not using old garments, but are carefully choosing their quilt's palette from an endless array of fabrics crafted with the quilter in mind. These fabrics are color matched and may include complementary themed prints. Yesterday's quilters would be amazed at the possibilities available to them, but they would also be bewildered. Imagine coming from the mindset of a pioneer woman who has more to do than she can get done in a day, a very poor source of light to work in the evening, and winter coming before she knows it. She has no budget for materials, and the knowledge that she must get this done. She is a wizard of ingenuity and thrift. She uses the minutest scraps from her scrap bag, (nothing wasted) and takes the fabric from outgrown or worn out clothing and finds the parts with the least wear and works them into a lovely crazy quilt. It doesn't follow any particular pattern, but with some embroidery accents, becomes a very attractive, sturdy, and warm cover for her child's bed. Our pioneer woman lovingly prepared her family for winter. While it was aesthetically pleasing, and had memories associated with it, her main objective was practicality.

I could go on and on about quilts, there is much to study about them. The patterns hold a great deal of meaning and can stem from various sources. I enjoyed reading about the Biblical origins of many popular quilt designs. Another interesting bit of information was about the use of flour sacks in quilts and clothing; again, another great example of recycling. This practice began in the 1840's when the cotton price dropped and cotton feed sacks began to replace barrels as a means to store and sell dry goods. Thrifty women began to use this fabric to make undergarments as the bags were made of unbleached muslin. I laughed as I read of the trouble that those pesky labels caused, and the procedures these ladies developed to rid themselves of these annoyances. Imagine the embarrassment to a well-mannered lady to fall and have her under things show at all, let alone with "Southern Best" or "Self Rising" emblazoned on them. Soon, the manufacturers began to see the marketing potential of providing printed fabrics (and peel off paper labels). Women would buy their flour, sugar, cornmeal, beans, and rice on the basis of the print. The companies began to produce complementary prints to entice these women to buy more dry goods. This practice continued until the 1950's when paper bags became the choice of manufacturers.

I had some pretty calico shorts when I was a child. They were made from a flour sack my grandmother had been saving for just the right project. As I recall, I was climbing a fence to see a new batch of kittens when my shorts caught on nail and ripped. Embarrassing as this was, I am glad now that she hadn't also made my underwear and I that I was not imprinted with some advertising slogan, although I don't think anyone but my grandparents saw the incident. Sorry, I couldn't resist interjecting my own flour sack story, but I will continue now with the purpose of this article.

My great-grandmother on my mother's side was born in a small log cabin in the late 1890's in the frigid woods of Wisconsin. Some of my favorite stories growing up were the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I had drawn up plans for my own one room cabin; which I planned to build on my other grandma's farm. Gramma Simpson said, "Why would you want to build a drafty, dark, old cabin?" She had no use for them. In fact, she shuddered as she said it. She saw no romance in the idea. It brought back vivid memories of being cold, and she was so thankful not to live that way anymore. She may have known how to quilt, but she didn't. She was a very good seamstress and knitter. She made most of my clothes when I was small. I was the first great grandchild, and she made sure I was well dressed. She was extremely frugal, saving all the scraps from every project. I also remember her coming to stay with us when I was almost four to care for us until my brother was born. She lay on the floor and braided us a very large, wool rug for our den floor. She scoured and cleaned and made all sorts of wonderful baked goods, and she also caught our Apricot tree on fire, but that's a different story.

When I was about ten years old, my mom decided she wanted to make me one of those patchwork maxi skirts that were becoming popular. She asked Gramma Simpson for some scraps from which to cut squares for the skirt. When she brought out the fabric, it was like a trip down memory lane. I recognized fabric from my clothes from years gone by, my mom's maternity clothes, my grandma's dresses, even my little brother's clothes. Gramma didn't waste anything. I wouldn't have normally put all those different prints and colors together. In fact, I wouldn't have considered wearing an outfit made of many of those prints, but small quantities arranged in the right manner produced a pleasing piece.

I remember some particularly startling fabric that Gramma gave me for a project I was making. I don't know why she had it, or what had used it for, or even if she did ever use it. It was chartreuse with shiny black painted polka dots. I liked some garish things when I was a child, but even I thought it was ugly. I was making some doll quilts. I just needed a few pieces of the right shape and size to fill in some gaps. I pieced in that ugly green fabric. I was probably squinting, but you know, with the other whimsical fabrics I had chosen, it was okay.
Experiences of varying types and duration make up the fabric of our lives. While we may not want a whole bolt of any particular piece; in small quantities they can add contrast and depth to the quilt of our life.

Shauna Bagenstos 2008-2010


If you care to read more about the history of quilts, here is a link to a nice little site with many articles about American quilt history.
http://www.womenfolk.com/quilt_pattern_history/patchwork.htm