The Timeless Quilt

by Isabel Morse Maresh Published in The Republican Journal ~ 19 October 1989 For many of us, quilts have been very much a part of our lives, as they were much a part of our parents’ and grandparents’ lives. No doubt the Pilgrims brought quilts with them, made of pieces and patterns, from their native homes. As wagon loads of families went westward, it can be imagined that women worked on or dreamed of their next quilt project.

Quilts were made for warmth or necessity, and sometimes not very beautiful. Scraps of material from making clothing and usable pieces from worn clothing were pieced together to make a coverlet. As it became an art, the quilt-makers, were competitive to see whose quilt was the most beautiful and original. Many beautiful embroidery stitches, cloth, and patterns were displayed.

Between the layers of cloth, a filler was used to make the quilt warm. In our lifetime, a variety of fillers have been used. The cotton batting fillers had to handled carefully. If not washed properly, they ended up as large cotton bunches. My mother took quilts apart, washed the top and backing, and re-tacked them. One versatile mother of a large family used clean-washed burlap bags. Cotton feed bags were used, as were white feed bags, which were bleached white and dyed.

During the 1940s, grain, flour, and animal feed came in printed cotton bags. These were made into clothing, curtains, dish towels, and bedspreads, as well as quilts.

Housewives traded prints. One of my aunts bought and traded grain bag prints for 10 cents each. She traded several for an antique round dining room table. How well I remember, when the grain truck came, running out to choose the material for my next dress with matching panties. My brother-in-law said that that the hand-me-down undies that were passed on to my younger sisters were made of sacks which said “Worthmore” Feeds. They may have been but I don’t recall any with printing on them.

A quilt was never discarded, but just recycled into the next one when it became old and worn. The quilts that I’ve made for our children over the years had fillers which were made up of old blankets feather-bed ticking covers, as well as worn dirndl skirts, sewed together to make a piece large enough to put on the back of a quilt. My mother could always see one or more pillowcases from old skirts.

Quilter’s patterns came from many varied sources, such as a sunrise, burst of autumn colors, flowers, sights, and senses. The patterns and names of them are as varied as the designers. Every quilt is unique. A wise German woman once told me never to apologize for a flaw in a quilt, as that makes it unique.

There is an age-old controversy, whether a quilt be tacked or quilted. I prefer the tacked. The controversy goes on.

Whatever the pattern, tacked, pieced, or quilted, there is nothing like a quilt to keep you warm on a cold snowy, blustery night!