Vintage Thingie Thursday: Vintage Wedding Ring Quilt

Welcome everyone to Vintage Thingies Thursday. If you have a love for vintage things, well....you have come to the right place. We have a "dog-gone" good time each and every week!!!
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This past weekend, Jeff and Alisha were home and it was a bit on the cool side. So I took out a couple of quilts and put them on the beds for extra cover. My daughter walked into my sewing room and commented on this quilt. She said to me that this is the quilt she had been asking me where I had put it. Funny, I did not remember that conversation coming up in the past, but she did.

She said this is the quilt she remembered on her bed when she was a little girl, it was all soft and comfy and good for snuggling....much better than a new quilt. I did remember she always liked this quilt as the conversation went forward.

She even pointed out that the marks on this quilt, that were done in permenant marker, were of her doings.....yes, there is the proof right there on the quilt. Funny, I had not remembered them being there before...but you can tell that the marks have been there for a while....several years in fact.

Then she proceeded to tell me how when she was little, she used to love to look at all the fabrics and pick out her favorites. She exclaimed that was what she would do when she was supposed to be taking a nap in the afternoons. She assured me this was her favorite quilt and it held lots of memories for her. Well...crap....that was the wrong thing to say to me.....sentimental fool I am......I had to take a deep breath and tell her she could take it with her when she went home.

That was no easy thing for me to do I might add. This quilt was made by my grandmother's mother on my dad's side of the family. My great grandmother pieced this quilt and I have always treasured it. I told my daughter that her great, great-grandma made the quilt and it was a treasure, and to please take care of it. As I type this, I still find it hard to believe I let her take it.

The quilt is not in perfect condition, it is vintage and has a few places that are not perfect. But quilts like this were made to be used and enjoyed not stored away. I feel relatively sure that my daughter will use this and enjoy it. I am not sure she is as sentimental as I am and treasure it, but at least it will be used as it was intended....for warmth and comfort along with holding fond memories for her.

But did I mention how hard it was to not tell her I changed my mind and keep it here with me??? I am rather proud of myself for letting a real treasure to my heart go on with the next generation to enjoy it. It was not easy.

Take Me Back Tuesday: A Heart Warming Moment

This past weekend was one of the best ones we have had in a while. It was a wonderful fall weekend and both of our kids were home. Each one had their own agenda for the weekend of course, but for a little while over the weekend stretch, they were both here and it was great. Perfect weather, baseball, good food, and the kids. Perfect.

And in knowing that they would both be here at the same time, it was a must to decide what each one would love to eat. Luckily, that was a pretty easy choice. We had homemade Mexican food....which is a staple in our family for years and years. These dishes were passed down from my great grandma and it is something we all enjoy. The meal is rather simple, cheese enchiladas and tacos...but the tacos are far from traditional really, they are wonderful and I am sure full of calories, but no one seems to mind. The enchilada sauce is made from scratch, just like my grandma made it, and just like she learned to make it from her mother in law, my great grandma.

On Saturday afternoon, I was in the kitchen cooking when the kids showed up. I was cooking and in the process of grating cheese for the enchiladas by hand...yes, I do that, don't even own a food processor, when one of them came in the kitchen to steal a bit of grated cheese out of the bowl. This is so hard to resist and I guess the cheese always taste better freshly grated. At least in my memories that was the case....I used to steal the cheese too when I was growing up.

For an instant, a image flashed in my mind of years and years ago when it was me entering my grandma's kitchen and stealing the cheese out of the bowl. I thought about how I would snatch several bites and she never minded one bit. I thought about when it was her cooking this Mexican meal for her family coming to visit. For an instant, I was transported back over 40 years ago to the smells, love and warmth of her kitchen and it washed all over me. It was fleeting, but it came none the less. It was surreal.

The rest of the afternoon flew by, but several times I thought about what had happened in my kitchen earlier in the day. It reinforced traditions being important in families, and holding on to the important things like family recipes and memories to pass along to the next generation. I'd like to think that in that fleeting moment earlier in the day that my grandma also felt it too, that she would be so proud that I cared enough to learn these dishes and know that I can never prepare them without the wonderful memories of her and her love coming to mind.

This take me back Tuesday, for me is about a heart warming moment over a perfect weekend and getting a glimpse of how life can come full circle sometimes when we least expect it. Now, I just have to get one of my kids in the kitchen to learn how to make this food.....the traditions can not stop with me.....they better be ready for a cooking lesson or two!!