The older I get, the more I treasure family heirlooms. This is a quilt that I was told my Grandma pieced together using fabric from flour sacks. I was given the quilt top, and then I asked a very talented quilter to hand-quilt it for me. I love it.
I have several quilts made by members of Mark’s family and mine. I so enjoy having them on display – love the memories and so admire the talent of the quilters that made them. I wish I had their patience and their skills!
To keep them for the next generation, I try to take really good care of them. I usually display the quilts on a quilt rack in our basement, to avoid exposure to sunlight and bright lights. I also rotate them about every 3-4 months, depending on the season. Most of the ones I have are really strong quilts, so they could be washed, but I usually just vacuum them before storing them. I carefully fold them and place them inside a cotton pillow case. If I don’t display them for about a year, I take the quilts out and refold them, so they don’t get a permanent crease.
There are many resources online if you want specifics on how to care for antique quilts. More delicate quilts require much more care. For example -https://www.archivalmethods.com/blog/tips-on-storing-quilts/
For fun reading,
“History of the Flour Sack Towel”
“From the 1800’s to around 1950, food staples such as flour, sugar, cornmeal, and chicken feed were packaged in tightly woven 50 or 100 pound cotton sacks. During the American Great Depression, between 1929 and the late 1930’s, early 1940’s, everything was hard to come by. Frugal housewives would re-use these cotton sacks and make them into clothing, toys, quilts, curtains, pillowcases, undergarment, and of course, dish towels. The re-use of flour sack towels became wide spread, and the flour companies took advantage of this trend by printing the sacks with flower prints, pretty borders, and doll and toy patterns to encourage housewives to buy their brand of flour. Women would swap and sell the sacks to one another to obtain a particular print or pattern. In the mid to late 1950’s, flour companies began using a cheaper method of packaging, paper sacks, and with the growth of new prosperity in America, the re-use of flour sack towels went by the wayside. “
Two favorites with quilters in the Kansas City area was the Kansas City Star quilt patterns and feedsacks. For more information, read Feedsack Secrets, Fashion from Hard Times by Gloria Nixon, available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Feedsack-Secrets-Fashion-Hard-Times/dp/1935362313
