Stitches in Time: A Bit of Family Heritage

To Our Boyer Cousins and Families,

My sister Betsy and I are pleased to present a quilt that we made this summer. It is really a bit of our family’s heritage.

The pin-wheel quilt top was pieced by our Great-Grandmother Genevieve Blough (1870-1946, mother of Alma) in her long-time home in Harrisburg. Here’s a bit of her story:

Mother of four, she was widowed fairly young (her husband died at age 40). She managed by taking in sewing and renting out rooms to boarders. In later years, her well-to-do daughter (Ethel Schubauer) probably helped her too. She was a much-loved grandma. Uncle Jim says her visits to Quentin were much anticipated and that she was a great conversationalist and storyteller. Our mother (Doris) said that she was a warm and generous person and never complained about her lot in life. 

This quilt top was pieced by machine, likely for everyday use on a household bed. I love the beautiful contrast of dark navy and the pinks. When I look at the fabrics, I wonder if they were leftovers from clothes she made for men. The navy looks like it could be light trouser material, and many of the lighter patches look like they could have been from men’s shirts or ties. Or maybe when her boarders’ clothes wore out, she kept them and used the good remnants. While a number of the pinwheels use only two fabric designs, many appear to be pieced with whatever she had. Still, the whole effect is cheery.

Our mother Doris dearly loved her Grandma Blough and would go and stay overnight with her in Harrisburg. She was especially looking forward to presenting her with her first great-grandchild (me). But it was not to be. She died in January of 1946 and I was born in March. 

Over the years, the quilt top was carefully folded, put in on closet shelves, passed from her daughter Ethel to my mother and then to me. It lay patiently in a cedar chest for all the years I was in California. Then when I moved here, and was looking for things to put on the walls, inspiration hit. A second good motivator was that Betsy has quilted, loves any sewing project, and I was looking for things we could do together. So, voila! And the fact that Betsy and I quilted it by hand and finished it together adds another layer of meaning to it. The only thing we added was the narrow navy border with loops at the top for hanging and a plain white back. 

The quilt now hangs in my bedroom and is a reminder of our rich family heritage from the Bloughs as well as Boyers. But although it resides here, it is really all of yours as well. I invite you all to come and see it in person one of these days! 

 

Love and hugs, Sylvia and Betsy