A return to former times

I visited the Black Forest Quilters Guild once again last evening. I’ve been away from the guild for a number of years, since about the time I passed the presidency on to Liz probably. I think I was a little burnt out on it all after three years on the board, and then life just got busier and busier for me and Friday nights ceased to be quilt nights, even just once a month for a meeting. In the last couple of years, I’ve stopped in here and there, but I hope to make it a more regular entry on my calendar going forward.

It was really wonderful to see all the ladies I’ve not seen in many years, and do some catching up. Show and Tell is usually the highlight for me, and last night was no exception. One member shared three antique quilts from her great grandmother that were made around 1900! It was so special. I nearly cried at the beauty of these quilts, especially the Double Wedding Ring, and it was just so lovely that she shared these pieces of her heritage with all of us.

I’ve only ever seen one other antique quilt that I really loved (and I couldn’t afford to buy it), and maybe it’s the lack of familial connection with the quiltmaker that turns me off to antique quilts a bit. A quilt just seems to mean so much more when it’s a part of your own heritage and you feel a connection to the maker through shared blood. I’m sure that there are many other antique quilts out there that are beautiful and that anyone would be proud to own, and as quilters and textile artists we are all connected in a way, but those lucky quilters who have quilts made by their ancestors are the ones I envy just a bit.

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