Thanks for meeting me at the Howard House again today for the eleventh post in my Vintage Series, the 'Utilitarian' Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.
(Pictured at left is a block of the vintage quilt from my last post in this Series...)
Its utilitarian, or hardy, every-day quality is what sets this quilt apart from the GFG quilts we're used to seeing. The hexagons are much larger, making it much simpler if not quicker to piece and finish. Compare it with the smaller hexagons in the GFG in Vintage Series III, found in my Blog Archives, dated October 7, 2013.
We have many lessons to learn from quilters of the past, who used what they had to make something useful. But I hope you agree that being a practical, utility quilt can have beautiful results, as well, which this charmer has in abundance.
The top was an antiquing find a few years ago. It waited just for this moment in time to be quilted in an all-over feather design and bound in Kona Cotton Aloe fabric. I attached a vintage doily as label and immediately shipped it to a dear friend just in time for her wedding this summer. She said she'd treat it with utmost care, which is good, of course. But I hope she USES it, because that's what quilts are for, especially these 'utilitarian' quilts. They were intended to be used. And certainly the very definition of utility means useful.
If there is anything I can offer to you to think about today, it would be to USE your quilts no matter their age. Sleep and nap under them, drape red and green ones on a couch at Christmas, use them as tablecloths, display them on your walls and change them up in-between all these duties. At the very least, if you have them folded away, take them out to appreciate them and REFOLD them along different folds from time to time.
I hope my posts have been useful to you throughout the years! If you have any ideas for future, useful posts, comment below or email me (see my Contacts Tab). I welcome your input!
