Featured Quilt of the Week

"Mama's Dresses" is the first baby quilt I made using fabrics that weren't either 30s reproductions, a kiddie print, or pastel colors. And it just might be my favorite one so far.


I tend to like straight, crisp lines and bold, rich colors. For this quilt I used fabrics that were Civil War reproduction prints. As I was piecing the quilt, the thought crossed my mind that a young, expectant mother in the last part of the 1800s could having been making it from the cast-off dresses and shirts of family members.

At the time I was making this quilt, I had just finished re-reading "Gone With the Wind", and during the hours of cutting and piecing, my thoughts grew fanciful speculating about the life of my imaginary mother-to-be and wondering what her days might have been like as she lovingly constructed a quilt much like this one for her baby.


The pattern is a basic 9-Patch. (Can you see the 9-Patches?)


I quilted it heavily with cross-hatching which makes the back (although plain and simple) very attractive.

I don't think it's strange that I wove such a story in my mind during the happy hours making this baby quilt. As quilters we are bound to women who have long used their talents to provide warmth and nurturing for their families through the creation of quilts. Often quilting was the sole artistic outlet and social diversion for the strong, hard-working women who came before us. These women did all the work with their hands, using a scissors, needle and thread. We may have the advantage of a rotary cutter and sewing machine, but the art of quilting is the common thread that binds us.