Friendship Quilt

 

Friendship or Baltimore or Album Patch or Chimney Sweep Quilt, this quilt pattern is known by several names in American quilt history. My Great Grandmother made the original quilt blocks years ago probably sometime between 1930 and 1950. Each of the 30 squares represent a family member or dear friend of hers. They were sewn together with plain muslin in wide sashing that was six inches in width. Over the year the quilt blocks fell out of square, the thin recycled fabrics stretched and strained against the seams. The quilt top was stained in some spots and damaged in others but it was a work of art and filled with heart.

In 1994 I inherited this quilt top, and thought it would be a fun project to finish, however I did not have a dang blang clue what I was doing, and there was no one in my life at the time that was a quilter. So, I did what I do best, I improvised. The quilt ended up with a cream muslin backing, red velvet four-inch wide binding (I was using fabrics I had access to in my closet), and I hand-tied it together with red embroidery thread. The quilt lived in this sad state for 26 years, until this past November when an idea made its way into my brain.

My Arizona Mom is a master quilter! She produces the most fantastic pieces of fabric art in the form of quilts, and she was coming to Alaska for Christmas. The timing was perfect. We could spend time together quilting and visiting, and in the end, we would have a masterpiece we made together with the begin squares from my Great Grandmother.

Plans changed slightly and I traveled to Arizona instead of them coming here but it was perfect as we had the advantage to use her quilting tools and fancy sewing machine. She also has a trusted person who could do the actually quilting of the piece.

Four days of a quilting camp for me as the student and Mom as teacher, we squared up the original blocks, reinforced the thinning fabric with iron-on backing, repairing the damage along the way, and added a layer of muslin as a backing for good measure. By the way none of the original squares are the same size which was a challenge when it came time to piece it all together but one we worked through together to overcome.

The precious gift of time together, and learning the beginnings of a new skill for me will not long be forgotten. And my Great Grandmothers heart is a little closer at hand.

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