How My Granny’s Quilts Inspired My Own Quilting Journey

This is my granny showing off one of her quilts. Look at those amazing hexagon points!

Childhood Memories Under the Quilt

When I was a child, I spent countless days at my granny’s house. She was a strong woman — walking three miles every day, reading three chapters of the Bible, and still enjoying her Little Debbie cakes. Her cozy house was filled with stacks of word search books and coffee mugs on display. Evenings were often spent playing rummy or checkers.

But what stood out most to me was her quilting. My granny had a big wooden quilt frame in her living room that lowered from the ceiling with a pulley system. When the church ladies gathered, five or six of them would sit around the quilt, stitching by hand. My favorite hiding place was under that quilt, where I watched the needles move in and out, stitch by stitch — love and craftsmanship woven into every piece.

A Family Quilting Tradition

The shark quilt my mamoo made for me in 2019, this was the last quilt she made for me

In our family, quilts weren’t just blankets — they marked milestones. A new baby or a wedding meant a new quilt. My childhood quilt was a pink “Colonial Lady” pattern that stayed on my bed for years.

As Granny aged, the quilting tradition passed to my grandmother, Mamoo. She embraced longarm quilting, but the love stitched into each quilt never changed. Every grandchild who married and every great-grandchild who was born received a quilt.

When I turned 32, Mamoo decided I might never get married, so she made me a quilt of my own — and not just any quilt, a shark quilt! It was stunning, and in a twist of fate, I had just met my future husband, who stood beside me as I received it.

A Turning Point in My Quilting Story

For years, quilting wasn’t something I saw myself doing. I loved admiring the beauty of quilts, but I preferred hobbies with instant gratification. Quilting takes patience, practice, and more than a little determination.

That changed in November 2024, when Mamoo passed away. At her funeral, her quilts were displayed as a tribute to her and Granny — a legacy stitched in fabric. Sitting there, I joked about picking up quilting, since no one in the family carried it on. Little did I know, that joke would spark something real.

My very first mini quilt!

My First Quilting Steps

The week after Mamoo’s funeral, my husband and I visited a quilt shop near our home in Colorado. Within days, I had a sewing machine, YouTube tutorials queued up, and my first mini quilt finished by the end of the week.

I signed up for every class I could find and quickly fell in love with the endless fabric choices. When I nervously showed my early projects at the quilt shop, several women smiled and said, “Your granny is smiling down on you right now.” I couldn’t help but believe they were right.

One of the most recent quilts I completed for my parents, also the first King Size quilt I completed from beginning to end.

Continuing the Journey

I don’t know exactly where this quilting journey will take me, but I’m grateful for the road paved by my granny and Mamoo. Quilting has become more than a hobby — it’s a connection to them, and to a tradition that I’m honored to carry forward.