Quilt stories – lost & found
I made my first quilt, an appliqued iris pattern, in Indiana. On June 2, 1990, our neighborhood was totally destroyed by a tornado and my quilt was lost. I went searching for it on our neighbor’s farm where most of our stuff flew and finally found the quilt up in a tree, covered in dirt and ants! My husband climbed the tree and retrieved it. It was almost torn in two and very dirty, but I cleaned it as best I could and tried to repair it. I still treasure it, especially its imperfections.
Patti Bullock, Lancaster (Inter-County Energy)
In the ‘60s my mother made our clothes, saving the scraps for my grandmother. Polyester was all the rage. Grandmother stitched each piece by hand. Many quilts have beautiful designs, but grandmother loved squares. When she died at nearly 90, I was given all the unfinished quilt tops. I gave my mother the first one I quilted. She kept it for years and gave it back to me just before the 2012 tornado hit West Liberty. My quilt was found amongst the rubble still just as perfect as grandmother made it.
Sherry Flannery, Hazel Green (Licking Valley RECC)
