As a young child, I used to play underneath the quilting frames that hung from the ceiling in one of the bedrooms of our house.
I would get under there and play as my mother, grandmother and aunt would quilt the most beautiful works of art you’ve ever seen.
For those of you who don’t know about those old quilting frames, they were hung from the ceiling by a rope or some type of sturdy cord, or at least they were at our house. And as the women worked their way toward the center of the quilt top, they would roll the fabric in on the wooden frames until it was complete.
For someone who rarely picks up a needle and thread these days, sewing used to be a big part of my life.
I sewed my very first stitch at age 3, and I have still have the fabric to prove it. Granny had kept that ugly piece of work tucked away in her sewing things for years. It had big, ugly stitches, but my grandmother understood the importance of that special “stitch in time.”
When Granny died, my aunt had most of her things. After I became old enough to appreciate the significance of that piece of fabric, my aunt pulled it out and gave it to me. It is a very special memento of my short but happy time with Granny. She died when I was just 7 years old.
But the sewing didn’t end when Granny passed on. My Aunt Flora Mae and I used to sew and make things every year during spring break. I made most of my shorts and shirts for the summer during those visits, and they looked pretty darn good.
I’m not sure I could make heads or tails out of a pattern these days, and I sure don’t have time to do much sewing with my work schedule.
I was reminded of all those fun times of yesteryear this past Sunday at the bridal shower my family and home church had for David and me back in Gordo.
Several years ago, I got about five of my Aunt Flora Mae’s unquilted tops that she had completed before she died. Some were done many years ago, and I had admired them all my life. As Aunt Flora Mae got older and her health failed, she was never able to get them quilted.
As one of our wedding presents, my mother and the Bostic Homemakers Club had my “Sun Bonnet Sue” pattern quilted.
I knew mother and the club were doing this, but I never realized the emotion I would feel when I saw the completed quilt.
As I opened the package, my cousin, Mary Gail, who also loved our Aunt Flora Mae dearly, began to tear up. Being a soon-to-be bride, I can cry at the drop of a hat these days, so the tears began to flow. I didn’t mean to cry at my bridal shower, but I did anyway.
The quilt is beautiful. My mother had my Aunt’s birth and death dates put in a corner block on the back, as well as information about the quilt and my upcoming wedding date.
I loved all the beautiful things we received at both showers over the weekend, but the quilt has an extra-special meaning. I know how much love and time went into the quilt and how much joy my aunt would feel about my upcoming wedding.
I am sure she is looking down on us as a guardian angel even today.
Opening the quilt was a special “stitch in time” that I will not soon forget.
