Last year, I participated in Quiltfolk’s Block of the Month: Quilt the Decades. The theme was quilt history and trends for each decade from the 1930s to the 2010s. For example, I learned that in the 1930s, many women used the beautiful fabrics in feed and flour sacks to make quilts and clothing. I have a vague memory that my grandmother told me her dresses were made from flour sacks, but I was definitely not picturing the designs I learned about in this workshop.

For the block dedicated to the 1930s, I learned how to make a Lone Star pattern, and I deliberately selected fabrics that reminded me of feed sack designs. The 1940s block was a Winding Ways block, and I chose colors inspired by Rosie the Riveter posters.

For the 1950s block, I learned how to make an “album” block with a Sawtooth Star and a record. It was so much fun. I learned a new way to create flying geese in the bargain. Inspired by 1950s music, I put an appliqué of Elvis on my “album cover.” My grandmother loved Elvis and recounted a story about how her mother-in-law, who lived across the street, disapproved of her blasting her Elvis records.

I realized at this point that two of the three blocks I created were directly inspired by my grandmother, who passed away in 2016. We were very close. I was her first grandchild, and she saved my life at least twice. I used to spend weekends at her house. She was a sewist, and though she tried to teach me, she wasn’t a very patient teacher. I think she always wanted one of her family members to take up her craft, but none of us were all that interested.

I had a realization that hit me like a lightning bolt. This BOM (block-of-the-month) spanned the decades of my grandmother’s life from the 1930s to the 2010s. Since I’d already been inspired to create two blocks with her in mind, I focused the rest of the quilt on her.

For the 1960s, I learned to make a six-pointed star using a hand-piecing method. I found a fabric with 1960s-style dress patterns and used bright colors. In the 1960s, my grandmother would have been an accomplished sewist, making clothes for her family. I am not sure if she was already establishing her business making clothes and doing alterations yet.

For the 1970s, I turned to muted browns, olives, and dusty pinks for a braided block I called “Braided Lives.” In the 1970s, my grandmother’s three children all married, represented by the dark brown stripes joining down the middle, and each of her six grandchildren was born, represented by the pink strips on the sides.

For the 1980s block, I learned how to make an abstract design I called Abstract: Aurora. I used aurora borealis colors, but the block also represents my grandmother’s home in Aurora. When I think of the 1980s, that is the place I think of, and most often, I think of her house, including her sewing room. The background of this block has tone-on-tone sewing images.

For the 1990s, I learned to make a TV block. This block was one of the most fun blocks in the challenge. I decided to depict the three soap operas Granna watched: All My Children, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light. For a while in the 1990s, I was a stay-at-home mom, and I watched the same ones.

For the 2000s, I learned to make a New York Beauty block. My grandparents celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2000, and everybody came to a party in their honor. My grandmother loved it. My New York Beauty block celebrates their marriage with a sapphire blue representing Granna’s birthstone and an emerald green representing my grandmother’s. The golden rays represent their Golden Anniversary. I admit this block was one of my least favorites when I finished it because I wasn’t sure it was pretty enough, but once it was quilted, it was one of my favorites.

In one of my favorite pictures of my grandmother, she is seated at her sewing machine with something she is making in her hands. She’s concentrating fully on her task, unaware she’s being photographed. I love the picture because it captures how I often think of her. I used that photograph as inspiration for an appliqué block that wasn’t included in the BOM.

The last block, the 2010s block, is a Love-and-Kisses block—a heart with a cross, or kiss. I had a chance to interview my grandparents before they passed, and I will always be grateful to have recordings of their voices, telling their stories. I learned so many things for the first time—how they met, stories from my grandmother’s childhood, my grandfather’s memories of World War II. I tried to capture the love I felt for my grandparents in that block.

I learned how to use a longarm quilting machine at a nearby shop. I used a double-heart motif to finish my quilt. I saw the yellow fabric I used to bind the quilt at the same shop, and it just spoke to me, so I grabbed it.

I miss both of my grandparents so much, and finishing this quilt was emotional for me. The quilting really brings it to life and transforms the blocks.