My mother, Betty, has been such an inspiration to me throughout my life. I thought it only fitting that hers should be the first tribute on this page. She had many talents, not the least of which was her sewing ability. She made this quilt top when she was just 16. The baskets are hand pieced using some great old fabrics from the 30’s and 40’s. She married my father when she was 17, and they started a family the following year. With raising four children and taking care of a home, she never found the time to finish her quilt. She died of breast cancer in 1985 at age 56. After her death my grandmother and I were going through her sewing room (dividing up her fabric “stash” – you know we all have them) and we came across this quilt top. Grandma told me to take it and finish it up. As you can see I haven’t done that yet. I too have been busy raising a family but I still have every intention of “getting the job done”… someday.

Lila was born into a long line of quilters from Missouri. As was typical for the time (1950’s and 1960’s), she spent the early part of her adulthood tending to her home and raising five children. She sewed most of the shirts and dresses her children wore, with the fabric scraps soon finding their way into a quilt. After her family was grown she applied her nurturing skills to earn a nursing degree and began a career in the medical profession. During this time she continued to make quilts for her grandchildren and great grandchildren in her spare time.

Our two families merged when Lila’s granddaughter married my son. It didn’t take long before we realized our mutual love of quilting. At that time she was retired from her nursing career and was gathering fabric for her church’s quilting group. They would meet several times a month to assemble quilts to be given to those less fortunate in life.

Lila left this life in 1996 after a courageous battle with cancer. I was the fortunate recipient of her quilting stash which included old fabric, numerous quilt blocks and the two tops (which I had machine quilted) shown below. Included in one of the boxes was an old yellowed envelope addressed to Lila’s grandmother in Washington state from her great grandmother in Butler, Missouri. Inside were pattern templates cut from an old catalog (“button-top-shoes old”) and a note saying she was sending more quilt blocks. It is an honor to preserve and pass on Lila’s treasures to her great granddaughters (my granddaughters) Katie and Maddy, pictured below with Great Grandma Lila’s quilts.

Lila's Nine Patch

Lila's Sunbonnet Sue