Quilts are full of love. When I see a handmade quilt I know that someone spent a lot of time laboring over it with love. I can not imagine someone making a quilt without feeling a lot of emotion. From picking the pattern to the perfect fabrics it is all a labor of love.
I shared a quilt with my readers years ago – a Cathedral Window quilt that my mother made. I wrote about it here. I loved being able to share that quilt with my readers and received a great deal of comments on that particular post. Today I am thrilled to share some of the quilt facts that I found in some of my mom’s stuff. I knew she had written all of it down and when we were moving her one time she remembered that she had promised to pass that info along to me. Fortunately for both of us she had taken good care to document it and had remembered to pass it along when she found that envelope.
My mother started the quilt November 21, 1983 and finished it 4 years and 8 months later. Here is the breakdown of hours per year:
- Year 1 — 141 1/2 hours
- Year 2 – 224 hours
- Year 3 – 247 hours
- Year 4 – 102 1/2 hours
- Year 5 – 163 hours
Total hours — 878
I also found the notation on the back of the index card where she recorded the entire cost for the project. She bought 38 yards of muslin for a total of $85.65 and bias trim for $5.57 for a total of $91.22. All of the fabric featured in the quilt blocks was either fabric from her own stash or donated to her. As I stated in the original post each block was different. She prided herself in having each one being different. Pretty remarkable.
I was so thrilled to be able to have all of those “facts” about my special quilt and now my readers know all the details as well. Aren’t we just the lucky ones?
If you are a quilter let me know what the longest time is that you spent working on a quilt. I would love to compare. Please leave me a comment and remember to Comment for a Cause for Donors Choose.
12 Comments
Leave a commentI view the “Cathedral Window” pattern as one of the more time consuming patterns there are and cannot imagin completing (starting?) one!!!! I’m thrilled that you have the documentation for this treasure. I thank you for allowing me to be a small part of other such family treasures over the years……hugs………..
It took your mom almost as long to make the quilt as it has been to build a cathedral, so it is aptly named. What amazing memories attached to this work of art. How wonderful that she documented the time and cost etc. I assume you have this in your home. What a treasure.xo
What an incredible work of art and gift of love. What a treasure.
What a beautiful treasure full of wonderful memories. It is amazing to have this precious quilt in your home. Also to have your Mom document all it took to make it is priceless.
Wow! That’s incredible! I love the stories behind home made quilts. So much history and memories.
A quilt full of love and memories, what could be better? My mother was an avid quilter and even made quilts for other people. I imagine she kept track of those kind of items regarding all the quilts she made over the years, especially those she was paid to make. I have some of the quilts but none of the details like you have. So happy for your treasure. 🙂
Your quilt is amazing. My mom used to make simple quilts out of our old clothes, just rectangles the size of postcards, sewn together with some sort of innards and a sheet as backing. I loved finding bits of my dresses in them, and my dad’s shirts. Don’t know what happened to those. There IS one small lap quilt made out of dad’s wool shirts at our lake house, and I covet that!
That quilt is a beautiful masterpiece! What a treasure!
The Cathedral Windows design is extra-challenging…
I’m not a quilter. My mother is not a quilter. My great-uncle was married to a quilter, who died with the fabrics for a king-size quilt with matching pillowshams cut but only a few of them sewn together. During and after the great-uncle’s last days (his wife had been 84 and he was 87) my mother, my sister, and I stayed with them at their house, and finished the honorary great-aunt’s Last Quilt. Nobody made it a full-time job; we did it while watching television, but that quilt was started in 1983 and finished in 1987.
Someone offered Mother $1100 for it. She was tempted, then said that was nothing close to enough. So we still have it. It’s a “Flower Garden” with 2″ patches.
What a treasure you have and I love that Flower Garden pattern. Sounds like it was a real labor of love. Thanks for sharing your story about it.
That’s so cool and literally the most beautiful quilt I’ve ever seen!
Thanks, Josh. It means so much to me that I have it now.