I don't know where
the fabric came from
possibly flour sacks
collected over the years
or scraps from old clothes
I don't know when
my grandmother started this quilt
or how long it took to cut out those
648 diamond-shaped pieces
all by hand
I don't know if
she was unable to finish it
or was it part of a great cosmic plan
so I would get to
finish what she started
I do know that
she was my grandmother
my father's mother
I was her last granddaughter
this was her last quilt
I know that she left it for me
just a Lone Star
waiting to be batted and lined
and quilted and bound
an heirloom from her to me, her namesake
I know that it is finally done
Grandmother, "You can
take it off your list
of unfinished projects now!"
so can I, sorry it took me so long
I know that more than just a quilt top
was handed down
you also taught me patience
and respect for all the work
that goes into a quilt
I wish I could have known you better
I wish we could have
quilted this one together
sitting side by side
at a quilting frame
Thank you
for the beautiful quilt
for the time it took to piece it together
for the love stitched into each seam
for the threads connecting us together
photos:
~finished Lone Star quilt hanging from the deck 28 February 2008
~1954 Grandmother Susan (aka Mama Austin) and me on the porch in McDonough, Georgia
~quilt label by local embroidery artist, Sandy Maynard
