The Angel Baby Quilt

One of the {many} perks of being me is that I come from a long line of quilt makers. I am the proud owner of a few precious quilts, lovingly made by the hands of my grandmothers and great-aunts.

 

Another perk of being me is that my Grandma Bessie's youngest sister, my great-aunt Jonnie, is on Facebook and she reads my blog {hi Aunt Jonnie!!!}. I love that we have reconnected through social media, and that she reads my words here and knows what I'm up to these days.

♥

I've had this little angel baby quilt since the beginning of my time, and I'd been wondering about its origins. I thought that my grandma had a hand in making it but I wasn't sure, so I sent a message to Aunt Jonnie and asked about it.

I’m so glad I asked! What I discovered from Aunt Jonnie was that my grandma hadn’t really helped with the quilt due to arthritic hands, but that it was a joint effort on behalf of her sisters - my three great aunts that I grew up with and adored as a child.

I learned that my great-aunt Floy, the eldest sister, “tore” the squares. And the middle sister, my great-aunt Mary, cut and sewed the angel shapes on. And the beautifully stitched embroidery that I had long admired? It was all done by Aunt Jonnie herself. It's so fun to know that they each had their own special part of the quilt making process!

Once the embroidery and applique work was done on each of the blocks, Aunt Floy sewed them together. The quilt tops were then assembled and quilted by all of my aunts during their weekly missionary meetings (quilting days) on Thursdays in the church basement. {I blogged about that here.}

Aunt Jonnie told me that they made these quilts to raise money for their church, and they also made them “for free” for each of their first grandchildren with the idea that they would be passed down and used by all of the kids.

She said they lost count of how many of these quilts they made over the years, and she guessed over 50 of them. They even made one for their grandchildren’s first children, and Carrie has this same quilt, done up in green and yellow and not nearly as worn, safely tucked in my cedar chest.

 

One of my very favorite things about this quilt is that my mom wrote my name in permanent marker in a corner on the back to identify it as mine when I took it to school. This quilt was also used by me in Kindergarten as a nap-mat. :o) ♥ 

 

I love knowing the sweet history behind this angel baby quilt! It has always been a treasure to me, and knowing all those sweet details makes it even more special.

♥