My Great Grandmother's quilts

Since my recent trip to the Mountain Quiltfest, I got a chance to sit down and speak to my grandmother about some of our own antique quilts. My grandmother didn't start quilting until she was older and she didn't remember her mother quilting much but she did have some memories of it.

My grandmother was born in the early '40s in Sevierville, TN. The area is known as Little Greenbriar. in the '50s the land was purchased by the government and became what is now known as the Smokey Mountain National Park. The family eventually moved to South Clinton.

My grandmother growing up always remembers a quilt on the bed but only a few times seeing her mother quilting. Her own grandmother quilted some also. It was a necessity at the time to have blankets for the family. She did remember the family stretching a quilt to quilt on the back porch from the rafters.

When my great grandmother passed away, granny got two quilts from her items. One was on her bed as a child and the other granny believes came from her grandmother Mrs. Rayfield. One of the two quilts uses carded cotton and has spots where the batting has shifted. The other uses sackcloth fabric and other clothing scraps. Granny remembers her mother making them clothing out of sackcloths. Both have damage and wear and I hope to get a chance to have them appraised one day.

While I was looking up information about antique quilts I found a few links I wanted to share:

Preserving Antique Quilts
Caring for Antique Quilts
Feed Sack Quilt History
20th Century Antique Quilts

Today's tea is actually a Blood Orange iced tea from Harney & Sons. I got it actually last summer and it is a fruity summer tea. I only have a couple of bags left so I will have to repurchase some when summer rolls around. They suggest serving it with orange slices or apple slices. I sat there and brewed a pitcher up for the week while I sat and talked to granny about her quilts. It is always nice to sit and connect with the family about common interests. and to know that stories like these will not be lost. That's one of the reasons I enjoy tea so much.