Dossey quilt tickles fabric of readers’ memories

In last week’s column, I wrote about local music legend Slim Dossey’s quilt. And, as always, one good treasure led to another.

Dossey’s quilt was made by his grandmother in Kentucky many years ago, and Dossey wanted me to see it. I sat with him and ran my fingers across the soft cotton, admiring the tiny stitches as he told me its story.

The only information we didn’t have was the name of the pattern. I knew I could count on readers to supply that information. And I was right.

Tuesday morning, when I got to work, I had calls and e-mails about the quilt. The name of the pattern is Grandmother’s Flower Garden.

Laura Estes, of Laura’s Sage Country Quilts, had a lot of information:

“It’s appears to have fabrics spanning 1900 to 1930 and was probably made from scraps from garment sewing,” Estes wrote. “The maker must have had access to a lot of sewing scraps as each round of hexagons on the flower blocks appear to be the same – no mixing of patterns.”

Estes didn’t stop there.

“It appears that there might be several different dyelots in the green. That would lead me to believe that the maker had made several other quilts and the green hexagons were cut from scraps of those quilts. That mint green was popular for sashing and borders on quilts from 1910 to 1930. Bubblegum pink and lemon yellow were other popular colors.”

There were more stories.

Angie Sharer wrote to tell me that she has a quilt that could be the twin to Dossey’s. “It is my most prized possession,” she wrote.

“My quilt was made by my great-grandmother, also from Kentucky, in the 1920s to 1930s,” Sharer wrote. “The colors are soft and warm, and I don’t think this was from frequent washing of the quilt. I believe the quilt was probably pieced from fabrics that had already been well worn.”

Sharer identified the pattern as Grandmother’s Flower Garden and said readers can find more information at www.womenfolk.com.

Sheila Wagner-Harless also has a similar quilt. She inherited the quilt – in pieces – from her grandmother after her death in 1976.

“One of my goals I set for my 50th birthday two years ago was to get started on the quilting of this wonderful heirloom I have kept safely in a cedar chest for more than 30 years,” Wagner-Harless wrote.”Luckily, I have a dear friend who is a quilter and has helped me get started and I am about half way finished.”

Wagner-Harless is fortunate to have her mother around to help fill in the story of the fabric used in the quilt.

“She has told me some interesting stories behind many of the fabrics used in the quilt,” Wagner-Harless wrote.”My grandmother sewed many of my mother’s and her sister’s clothes and those remnants made it to this quilt.”

Martha Jackson, of Grand Coulee, is also working on an unfinished quilt.

“My grandmother had pieced blocks for one she never finished,” Jackson wrote. “My mother had started to put a few pieces together but never did much. I got the pieces when my mother passed on and am just now working on it in hopes of finishing it before one of my daughters has to complete it.”

Marge Ivanis made her own quilt like the one in the photo.

“It is still in my possession although it is promised to one of my daughters,” Ivanis wrote. “As I worked on it only in my spare time, it took me almost 10 years to complete.”

Ivanis” quilt is also a prizewinner.

“I took it to the Interstate Fair one year and received a blue ribbon,” she wrote. “And a gift certificate to a popular steak house.”

Maxine Davidson called to tell me she also got a Grandmother’s Flower Garden quilt as a gift from her grandmother.

“She made it in the 1930s and I got it when I graduated from high school in 1939.”

I’ve written about quilts before, but I’m always touched by the sentiment stitched into the fabric that makes up each one.

Thanks for sharing your stories and your treasures.