Signature Quilts

My mother-in-law received this signature quilt from her Mother when she got married in 1941.  The quilt contains embroidered signatures of her relatives, some of whom I have met.  Capitola and Clell Gray's signatures are there - they attended our wedding 30 years ago.  Wish I had gotten to know them better.  Adren Denny's signature is there - we purchased his house years ago, and our oldest daughter now lives there.  My husband's grandparents, William and Edna Green, have their signatures included and it was so fun to see my husband's surprised expression when he realized this.  The quilt is so precious to us and will be passed along to our daughters someday.

I recently participated in a signature block swap with 20 other online friends, and am looking forward to including their signed blocks in a quilt.  Lots of ideas for making the quilt are coming to mind, including adding the signature blocks to house blocks, star blocks or maybe a crazy quilt.  These blocks contain memories of happy times getting to know people who I may never meet from all over the world, and from several U.S. states.  Have you made a signature quilt and how did you decide to include the signatures?

Treasures

My dear mother-in-law passed away last Sunday after a long illness. We were so fortunate to inherit some of the quilts made by her, her mother and her aunts. They are completely hand pieced.  These quilts were carefully packed away in her cedar chest and we never knew they existed. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Just love both of these quilts and feel so lucky to keep them in our family.  My husband remembers his grandma doing a lot of "sewing" when he was young, but doesn't recall his mom making any of these quilts.  It is fun to really study the fabrics and quilting designs up close. 
 
Back in the early 1990s when I first started quilting, I remember getting my mother in law her first rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat for her birthday, and showing her how to make a log cabin quilt.  She had a lot of fun making it, but never mentioned that she had made quilts before, using the traditional methods.  She was a beautiful southern lady who looked like a 1940s movie star.  She traveled across the country from Kansas City to California to marry my father in law, who had just enlisted in the navy in 1941.  She was only 16 years old!  Now I know where my daughters get their courage and independent streak!  We really miss her...

Red Runneth Over

So nice to finally have a finish and popped this quilt in the washer and then into the dryer as I was anxious to get the crinkly, antique look.  Didn't give it a second thought (or look) before drying, and rats, one of the red fabrics bled, despite prewashing the fabric!!

Will try washing it again with a color catcher and see if the red comes out.  My daughter, Jamie, told me not to worry, it just makes the quilt look more antique.  Bless her...  I'm happy with the echo quilting in the borders - boy did it take a long time though!  Thanks for any suggestions you have on getting the red out.

I'm happy to report that the color catchers worked like a dream and the red came out!  Thank you all for your suggestions!  -Dixie

Merry Christmas 2009

So happy and lucky to have our family with us this year. Lots of laughter and fun for all - wish everyone a happy new year.

Christmas 2008

Starting a new blog before the new year - ha, ha! We were so fortunate to have our family together this year for Christmas. Just love this picture of the kids and pets - such happy memories. As usual, cooked too much food, so won't have to cook again for a few days. Although I cooked a couple of artichokes with garlic for our dinner tonight - yum! Looking forward to the new year and the quilting fun it will bring!