Last weekend I was working in my yard when a neighbor approached. He reminded me that I had said I’d like to see his grandmother’s unusual quilts. We set a time for me to come over on Tuesday with my camera.

Emma Lee Thacker, my neighbor’s grandmother, died in the 1990s (I think). She made traditional quilts, like this double wedding ring:

And this Lone Star in very pretty colors!

And this Sunbonnet Sue/Holly Hobby:

I like the different flowers held by each Sue. It’s a small thing, but memorable.

But she also made one-of-a-kind special quilts like her Man on the Moon quilt!

She liked bed-size quilts, so the quilt is double-size. The gold moon is at least 3′ in diameter. The details are so much fun!

I particularly like Michael Collins floating up above the surface of the moon in his capsule, surrounded by stars!

Emma Lee liked to enter the State Fair and I suspect she won more than once.

She was proud of her Native American heritage and it shows in this quilt:

This quilt is also bed-size. It has a red border/binding. These figurative quilts are appliqued, embroidered, and quilted by hand. I suspect that some of the fabric (maybe more than some) has polyester in it.

My neighbor said that she made many more quilts that ended up with other family members. Those include the quilts with High School mascots like this one:

She also made a crocheted double wedding ring bed-size summer cover. I can crochet, but not like this. It was amazing!

We are surrounded by images of cool, new quilts today. Instagram, Pinterest, FB… there is so much creativity in the world. But it’s good to be reminded that it has ever been thus. Quilters/crafters/sewists like to express themselves creatively in fabric and fiber.

One day it will be our grandchildren pulling our quilts out to share with others. I can only speak for myself, but these make me want to make even more playful quilts.