Thursday, December 25, 2008

The Mumps Quilt



I have a GREAT story about this quilt that I blogged about a few days ago. If you remember, my aunt gave this to my mom to give to me. It was a completely unexpected gift, but a very welcome one since I love quilts. I did not know much about the quilt when I received it other than that it was made by my paternal grandmother. Today after our Christmas meal, I asked my aunt about it, and this is what she told me. I LOVE this story!

When my dad and my aunt were young, they both contracted mumps at the same time. Since they weren't allowed to be in school, they were home and needed to be occupied with something. (NOTE: My dad is 87 years old and my aunt is a few years younger..........so this was before you could plunk your sick children in front of the TV or DVD player.) So, my grandma rounded up all the scraps of blue fabric she could find and had my dad and my aunt keep busy by cutting them into little squares. She then used the squares to make a simple 9-patch quilt, the very one that is now on the back of a rocking chair in my living room right now. Isn't that the greatest story? So now I'm calling it the "Mumps" quilt, and thinking about what quilt I'm going to make in 2009.

1 comment:

Robin (RsIslandCrafts) said...

That is such a wonderful story! What a creative way to keep sick kids occupied.

I love to hear the stories behind quilts.

I wonder...I haven't made many quilts and I have never had one made for me or passed down to me. Would it be "right" or possible to somehow write down the story and attach it to the back of the quilt? It might interest the next person it gets passed down to.