Kathy Abbott, Mesquite, Nevada: After my grandmother Elizabeth (Hawkes) Pudney died, I discovered an old crazy quilt in her cupboard. I noticed it had patriotic ribbons scattered throughout; one referred to “Camp Algiers, Falls Church, VA 1898” and another to a 1900 reunion of the 11th Regiment from New Jersey. Through extensive research, I was able to determine that the quilt was likely made by Eveline Brown Pudney, the mother of Elizabeth’s second husband, Jacob Thorn Pudney. Although her embroidery is not that of an expert, you can tell Eveline poured her heart into the quilt.

J. Joseph Harland, Hockessin, Delaware: In the early 1980s, my cousin organized a family quilt project for my grandmother’s 80th birthday. All Nana’s children and grandchildren were supplied with a quilt square and tasked with decorating it in some special way. Nana started life as a farmer’s daughter in New York, so I embroidered a scene with New York’s state bird, flower, and tree. The final quilt consisted of embroidery, appliques, and fabric marker art. Nana was very impressed.

Jackie Harter, Hemet, California: I have only one memory of my great-grandmother Ida, from when I was very young. I watched as she arranged tiny hexagon pieces of fabric and then hand-stitched them into a flower garden quilt, which she later gave to my grandmother. I admired that quilt every time I saw it over the years. My grandmother passed the quilt on to me, and one day I will pass it to my niece.

Judy Welna, Georgia, Vermont: On our first wedding anniversary, my husband and I drove to Minnesota to spend time with his family. His mother disappeared into her attic and came downstairs with a beautiful double wedding ring quilt. She explained that during her pregnancies for each of her three sons, she had made wedding quilts to be given when they married. Before we married, my husband was a Catholic seminarian for more than five years; his mother had saved the quilt for him anyway! We have now been married more than fifty-five years.

Trina Weller, Pennington, New Jersey: I am fortunate to have a strong family tradition of quilting. I own quilts or quilt tops pieced by both of my maternal great-grandmothers, a maternal great-aunt, and my mother, Blondell (Williams) Kittredge. As the oldest child of a Tennessee farming family, my mother grew up working in the fields and milking cows. After marrying, she took tailoring classes and eventually started making quilts. She later opened a fabric store in Georgia, where she taught quilting classes for more than twenty years. Her work was renowned: in 1999, my mother was commissioned to make six pictorial quilts for the Dollywood Chapel in Tennessee. The quilts were installed in April 2000 and can be viewed there to this day. I treasure the hours my mother and I spent together working on quilts. Like my mother, I began quilting after marriage. I make art quilts, but I also have a deep appreciation for traditional quilts like those made by my ancestors.