I am the caretaker of the family heirlooms, from Nammie’s beloved rocking chair to Dave’s baby spoons, and they will certainly be passed on to the next generation.
What do I hope to pass on from my own family’s life? Like previous generations, we have many, many family photos. Those will move on in time. I am not a very crafty type person, but I do dabble in quilting. My work does not come near the expertise of Minnie Mae, but I am very proud of one quilt that I hope becomes one of our family’s new heirlooms.
When my son was a baby, he had some very cute little clothes. There weren’t nearly as many cute outfits for little boys as little girls, but there were some outfits that I didn’t want to give to friends. On the other hand, Michael certainly wasn’t going to be wearing them for very long. I decided to use the outfits to create a quilt of his baby memories. It is a simple nine block quilt, but each block is sewn out of his adorable little clothes.
With the lighting available and only my iPad, these aren’t the greatest pictures, but the block close ups give an idea of how I used his little outfits. The quilt has passed the quarter century mark, so it is definitely vintage, although not yet antique.
Maybe I will try to create a couple more heirloom quilts for the family. Then like Minnie Mae, three quilts will be gifted to our descendants.