The Quilts From Over The Years

 Grandma Lu had been outside attempting to help her husband get her car out of a snow bank to no avail. Her husband could take her to town in his truck until the snow melted. Now as she snuggled under her Chief's blanket in her rocking chair, she couldn't help but smile. "This little scrap of a blanket wouldn't have kept me warm when I was a child, that's for sure. Our old farmhouse was drafty and the bedrooms upstairs were darn right cold!" She chuckled out loud when she remembered her brother complaining about seeing his footprints on the steps because the steps were covered with frost. Yes we did need quilts to keep us warm but the quilts that my grandmother made were so heavy because they were made out of old winter coats that she saved year after year. The menfolk wore them to shreds, but she was so very frugal that even the scraps were of value for making quilts. Of course, she didn't have a sewing machine. All of her quilting was hand stitched. I can see those old quilts now. The different pieces of coats were stitched together with yarn and some looked like embroidery thread. There were pieces of velvet there were so very soft. They were probably made from children's coats that were threadbare. Other pieces were made of corduroy. Those pieces were soft too, but some were not nice to lay my little hands on. They were like a bad joke. They made you think they were soft and nice to cuddle up to because they looked like lamb's wool, but in fact they were harsh and scratchy. I never did see the back side of those old quilts. If I did I sure don't remember them. However, I do remember one special night when my sister who was twelve years older than me came home from a date.

My bedtime was when my parents told me it was. It was generally about eight o'clock because the school bus came at seven in the morning so I needed to get out of bed at least by six o'clock if not earlier.

This particular night it was so very cold outside. An Iowa typical winter night of low to below zero weather. I had sat on my mama's lap and said my prayers. The dining room was cozy and warm because that is where the coal stove was. She kissed me goodnight and said, "Now hop up to bed. Love you!" I did as I was told. As I climbed up the stairs the air became colder and colder. I hurried and crawled under those heavy quilts. It was so cold, but soon the sheets warmed up and I was so very comfortable and went sound to sleep.

 I woke up hours later to my sister saying, "Lu Anne, wake up and move over. You are on my side of the bed." In my sleep I did what I was told only to realize that my sister had tricked me into moving over to the cold side of the bed by the window which usually let in a bit of a breeze. I yelled at her and said, "It's cold over here! You are mean." To this day I can hear her chuckle. "Well you shouldn't have slept on my side of the bed." 

As Grandma Lu got out of her rocking chair she shook her head. "We laughed over that for years. That's what happens when a six year old has an eighteen year old for a sister that had to share a bed."

She walked into her bedroom and looked at the quilt that was hanging proudly by a wooden ribbon quilt holder. She felt the fabric and shook her head. This quilt would always hang as a reminder how things change over the years. Her mother had made this quilt while waiting for her baby girl to arrive. It was eighty-two years old. The backing was threadbare, but the top was perfect. Of course, she didn't know that she would be having a baby girl, so she used soft green and yellow and white fabric with a little bit of rust just in case it was a boy. It was soft with age and wear. It too was hand stitched.  The stitches were so very small and even. Perfect, but the world wasn't. World War II was raging. What was her mother thinking while she was working on this quilt? Was she worried? Did she even have a radio to hear the news? What kind of heat did she have in that old farm house that both she and I grew up in? What was it like? She told me lots of stories, but there are still so many more questions unanswered.