Size Does Not Matter Anymore!

Quilting in 2008 is different from the way yesterday's Grandmas quilted ...making quilts for cover ...the fire was banked or the heat was turned down low at night, & the thick quilts were piled on so high that it was an effort to turn over...."I know, because this was the way that I was raised in West Texas." Quilts of "yesteryear" were batted with cotton wadding, worn-out quilts, ragged clothing beyond patching & the heavier the results, the better. All resources were recycled. What an effort the old quilts must have been to wash & hang on a line!

Size mattered then....a quilt had to be big enough to cover the bed & at least 3 kids & thick enough to make a palet....lol! There was none of this lap quilt, nap quilt, table quilt business ... nobody had time to sit or sleep during the day, & dollies were the proper things for tables. One thing has stayed the same though....the love, attention, dreams of hope & the great friendships made while piecing our lives together stitch by stitch.

The batting may be lighter & the purpose not so serious, but women from both eras pour & poured hearts, minds, & spirits into the quilts of the day, filling homes with warmth of one sort or another.

We can learn a lot of life from the determined women who quilted tirelessly to settle this country, but how independent we quilters have become.....any size, any color, few rules, no thought to survival ... we don't even recycle ... we just play & size does not matter anymore. We have become liberated quilters, still looking back to tradition, but leaping foward in abandon.....oh what fun it is to be a quilter in 2008!