Breakfast in Bed Cassatt, Mary For Purchase Information

     I recently saw a segment on TV about old quilts. Quilts made by pioneer mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers and the history behind them. This made me think about the quilts our grandmothers and mothers made and the "fancy work" my grandmother did. My mother and grandmother thought the best dish towels were made from bleached flour sacks. I have several sets of "tea towels" that Mother and Grandmother stitched and embroidered. One set is embroidered with the days of the week, another set has the outline of little girls in sunbonnets.

     To keep the tops of quilts and blankets clean and germ free, Grandma made sure we had "breathers" on the tops of our quilts and blankets. Breathers were bleached flour sacks, embroidered, folded in half and hand basted along the top of a quilt/blanket. The breather was removed and washed.

     Printed flour sacks were good for aprons, house dresses and quilt pieces. When Daddy went to the feed store, Mom and would go along to pick out the printed feed sacks she wanted for her projects.

     Grandma and Mom made quilts, mostly patchwork quilts, from material pieces and the good parts of old clothing. There are two quilts which I treasure above all others. One, a "crazy quilt," my grandma made from velvet, brocade and satin pieces. It was hand sewn, with decorative stitches around the edge of each piece. Grandma would tell me about each piece, who it belonged to and the occasions it was worn. The other is a quilt, the "Wedding Ring" design, pieced together by my mother, as a young woman. As I was growing up, I remember Mom would unwrap the quilt top (stored in tissue paper) and we would lovingly admire her work, which Mom proclaimed: "Was not nearly as good as my grandmother's fine stitches." The quilt top was quite an undertaking for Mom and it meant a lot to her. When Norm and I married, she had it quilted and finished, as a wedding present.

     My grandmother loved doing "fancy work," as she called it. In her golden years, Grandma was afflicted with arthritis, and she spent much of her time in her wicker rocker working on hand projects. Although her fingers were gnarled by arthritis, her stitches were still very fine and delicate. She filled her hours piecing together quilt tops, crocheting doilies, tatting, working on cut work, embroidering pillowcases, dish towels and luncheon cloths. When my sister was born, with renewed vigor she crocheted baby clothes, hand stitched and embroidered other baby items for her. The birth of my sister brought a lot of joy to my Grandma. She loved holding the new baby (Carol), rocking her and giving her lots of love and attention.

Deanna Trask Keele June 22, 2000