Grandmother's Quilts #5

Grandmother's quilts . . . the end.

This final quilt top was made by my great-grandmother near the end of her life when she had little vision left.

She lived in Illinois and died in 1943 at age 93.  All the other quilts in the previous posts were made by her daughter (my paternal grandmother.)  Here are my great grandparents on a visit to the ranch in Idaho around 1920.  Great grandmother would have been in her early 70's in this photo.

Hannah and John Shuping c. 1920

(On a side note, these quilt tops are hanging on an old orchard ladder that belonged to my husband's grandparents.)



This is a queen sized quilt.  Lots of work.  Lots of stitching.

The inside blocks are not bad, but the muslin melons are wonky.  I have considered taking this apart and resetting them, but then it would not be original.  Another dilemma . . . so I just enjoy it hanging on my orchard ladder in my studio. 

I can't imagine stitching this by hand.  When I got to the place where I couldn't see well, I just got some reading glasses.  Heck, I bought them by the 6 pack at Costco before I got my bifocals.  Great grandmother probably didn't have very good glasses (or no glasses) and certainly not the great lighting we have today.  I think I will give her a pass on her wonky blocks . . . bless her. 

Her stitching is really not that bad.  Probably cutting out the fabric was a challenge, especially the curved pieces.