Granny’s Garden

I inherited the inspiration quilt, made in 1939 for my Granny, Betty Lee, when she passed away. It was clearly loved beyond measure as evidenced by the wear in the blocks, but I didn’t know what to do with it for a long time, and it sat tucked away in a box. And then I had an idea; I could recreate it with fabrics that represented some of my most cherished memories and honor two of the very best people I ever had the privledge of knowing – my Granny and Pa.

Granny’s Garden is my reproduction – coincidentally, uses a block called the Missouri Daisy – (where they both born and raised). The only pattern or templates I could find were for paper piecing, and I didn’t know how to do that yet, so I improvised.

Each “Daisy” block uses fabrics chosen that represent something special about all of the time I spent with them.

Strawberries, for the bajillion giant strawberries we picked from the fields and turned into jam or ate with sugar and milk. Tiny blocks and bikes, for all the hours Pa would spend on the floor playing with the toys from the big red bag that lived out in the “front porch” room. The green with Scottie dogs, for all the times we spent with the neighbors down the road. The purple with tiny flowers reminded me of the big lilac bushes that were along the back of the house. These are just a few of the memories I stitched into each block – every single one of the blocks was purposefully chosen to represent something.

For the back, I chose a flannel print that is printed with bluebirds and flowers. The label, is an appliqued piece, in the Sunbonnet Sue style, of a boy with a fishing pole. (more memories).

This will forever be one of my most precious quilts. It’s filled with imperfection, and overflowing with love, sentiment and memories.

And what better way to remember and celebrate the 2 most wonderful humans I ever knew. I miss them more than I could ever put into words, but I hold them so close to my heart every single day.