My mother Helen was the middle child of seven.
She was born a few minutes before her twin brother in the mid 1920's in Brookhaven, MS.
Corona, her mother, sewed clothes for Helen and her younger sisters
assembly-line style on a treadle sewing machine.
Helen was sewing for herself by age 13.
Above she is dressed as Martha Washington for a ladies' club revue.
Below the girl reading represents mom as a child to me.
She loved to read. The other children could easily be her siblings.
As a young mother in the 1950's Helen sewed, knitted, and crocheted for her children.
When the kids were grown she began making quilts, machine piecing and hand quilting.
She won blue ribbons for her handwork and took part in quilting demonstrations at the state fair.
In the 1970's she wrote to Martha Skelton, a famous Mississippi quilter, about an appliqué pattern she wanted to try. Martha wrote back with suggestions and pattern pieces traced into the letter.
Mom was thrilled to be recognized as a Mississippi Heritage Quilter by the Mississippi Quilt Association in 2011. She had two quilts exhibited at a Jackson, MS museum.
My mini quilt features a 1920 era girl reading surrounded by her granddaughters in appliquéd circles.
Helen took the photos and printed them on fabric to be used in a memory quilt.
The buttons on the corners of the center block represent her interest in sewing.
The herringbone stitch around the appliqué reminds me of her skill in hand sewing.
The big stitch quilting is a modern take on the hand quilting in mom's quilts.
The buttons in the middle of the chain blocks remind me of other aspects of mom's life.
Flower basket = sharing flowers with nursing home residents.
Dragonfly = enjoying nature around her home.
Gingerbread man = making cookies for grandchildren.
Fish = fishing in her pond.
Peter Rabbit's mother = reading books with her grandchildren and great-grands.
Ball and glove = games of catch with visiting children and softball games at church.
Teapot = tea parties with all of us.
Dog = her faithful companions around the 8 acre home place.
Flower = sharing bulbs with anyone who showed an interest.
Of course a mini-quilt doesn't tell the whole story of a person.
Most of the fabric in this quilt was given to me by my sister-in-law, Doreen.
Mom encouraged Doreen to sew and Doreen became an outstanding seamstress and quilter.
Mom made quilts with all three of her granddaughters.
She always complemented me on my attempts at sewing and quilting.
My scrappy quilts often received comments like "that is so colorful".
Scrappy was not her style.
I hope this will inspire those interested in fabric art
to try their hand at this useful and decorative endeavor.
