Once upon a time, in the high mountains of Colorado, where the wind blew cold and the snow piled deep, lived a mountain man. He grew his own food, raised his own animals and chickens for meat and wool and leather and eggs, and hunted and fished and gardened and preserved much of everything else he and his family consumed. This tough, brawny, stocky man almost never went to the store...it was a rare day when anything he ate did not come from the work of his own hand. He was never in a restaurant, ever, to the knowledge of anyone who knew him.
The deer and elk that he hunted, (and used every tiny bit, from antler to meat to hooves to bone...no trophy hunter here), had beautiful hides, that he patiently cured by hand. Later, he had a town person do this for him. He never wasted, anything, ever. Leather jackets were sewn, leather gloves; moccasins.
Surprisingly, he was also a quilter. He made the above quilt, on a little black featherweight sewing machine, sewing through thick layers of leather, to make the above quilt. This quilt weighs 24 pounds, on my home scale. It is tied with leather ties, through the center of each block, and is backed with purple satin, and of where this came from is a mystery to this day. It was a heavy, sturdy item, meant for cold nights in a little house with no heat, except from a tiny potbellied stove in the front room.
I have that little black sewing machine.
Have you guessed it?
This man was my father. Born in 1919, he was a true mountain fellow, living outdoors and doing things that were even then considered to be of an earlier era. He was a world war 2 vet, fighting for our country, too.
I guess I did not know this quilt existed. My brother had it, and he lives in Australia. He recently told me about it, and so this quilt has been from Colorado to Australia, and now to Texas, where I live now. It now belongs to me, as I am the family quilter.
It is so heavy as to be uncomfortable to lie under, but in the snowy nights below zero, I imagine it felt very good! It was made in the 1950's, and has no label. I am making one to put on it, so everyone knows about where this particular quilt came from, and who made it.
So I guess I came by my quilting love naturally! My mom made dozens of scrap quilts, and now I know my daddy made at least this one, too. I sure miss them...I was born when they were in their late 40's, and was raised in exactly the same environment as I described above. More like I was born in the 1800's instead of the 1970's, and I believe it was fairly unique for the time.
I grew up tough and strong, and worked hard every day with my parents. It was a great childhood, in retrospect. I never knew how poor we really were, but I am so fortunate to have lived this life, up in my beloved Rockies.
Thank you for letting me share this story.
And in other news!
This is what is on my bed! What is on yours????? This is a very worn bullseye quilt...raw edge machine applique. Scrappy!!
I am working on the border for the row by row quilt. Lots of tiny one inch finished squares to sew together!!! And super fun!!!
Have a wonderful day...what is your quilt story? Would love to hear about your heritage!!
Julie
