My grandmother has begun giving gifts from her home for Christmas and the holidays. I think it is a great way to clean house. She doesn't really care about keeping the items anymore and it saves quite a bit of money. I have not asked for anything from her house, although I have seen lots of treasures I would love to have. This past Christmas I was surprised to be given a quilt that she had shown me a couple of years ago. I am a quilter myself and had thought this quilt was so beautiful...definitely the best Christmas present I could have gotten.
The quilt was completely hand-stitched and hand-quilted by my great-great Aunt Margaret McGuire Underwood. I do not know when she quilted it, but it was prior to her death in 1995. My great-grandfather, Clifton White, bought his sister-in-law's quilt at an estate sale for $300 and gave it to my grandmother. I do not know if Margaret worked from a pattern or designed it herself, but I do know that the hand quilting is so good that one could confuse it with machine work. I envy her skill.
I knew Margaret, but only as well as any child knows an older relative. We often made visits to her house in Hardin, Missouri and I remember thinking what a nice house it was. It had wood paneling and a fireplace. Margaret and her husband, Orville "Pete" Underwood, married when they were both forty and they had no children. They ran a store in Hardin, Missouri called Underwood Mercantile. My mother fondly remembers going there to get fresh meat and cheese. I learned today that Margaret had been married prior to Pete. Her first husband, Dave Bullock, passed in 1950 from a heart attack. Now that I know the kind of skill my aunt had, will have to look for more of her handiwork at the local historical society.
I am so very proud of my quilt. I wish that I had been a little older, and more mature, when I knew Margaret so that I could have learned quilting skills from her. No one creates such a beautiful thing without passion and I look forward to applying that passion to my own quilting. I appreciate her inspiration.
1 comment:
It's a beautiful quilt Heather and you're so lucky to have it. I used to stitch, can't now as not so able, so I appreciate just how much work went into it. I never managed to make a quilt but wanted to so can also appreciated what a wonderful gift you have been given. I'm sure you will treasure it.
Kind regards,
Christine (rootsresearcher at So That's Where I Get It From)
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