Your great great great grandson loves it, too.

Dear Great Great Grandma,

Hi, it's me, Kristie. Your great great granddaughter. I know we never met and I'm not even sure I've seen a picture of you, but I wanted to stop for a moment in this crazy life and say hi and thank you.

You see, a few years ago I visited my Grandma (your granddaughter) and she passed along a quilt to me along with a few hand stitched napkins and pillow cases. I used the pillow cases a few times but I was afraid I might damage the delicate stitching so I put them away. I see them on occasion and think about you sometimes. But that quilt was always shunned to the linen closet, collecting dust.

Over the years I've spent a pretty penny on nice bed linens. I have certain requirements when purchasing bedding. The sheets MUST be a high thread count and Egyptian cotton. At least 400 count or higher. The blanket that tops the sheets must have some sort of weight to it, but not be suffocatingly hot in the summer. And there must be absolutely no print on any of these items whatsoever. I HATE print on sheets, pillowcases and blankets. It's so 'traditional' to me and I'm not a traditional kind of girl.

My design style is more modern than anything. I'm not timid with color. I can mix and match colors with the best of them. And I always stuck with plain bedding that I could spruce up with accent pillows and paint colors.

But a few days ago my whole philosophy came crumbling down around me.

I decided I wanted a change on the bed. I was tired of the same sheets and blanket. It was so boring. I took the old bedding off and went to get a clean set of sheets in a different color this time. When I opened the linen closet I saw that quilt. The one I've had for years, just sitting there. I pulled it out and decided to see if it would fit on my bed and it did. And I fell in love. Instantly.

It's not my style at all. It's multicolored and bright and so traditional, in my mind. It even looks a bit country in a way. But I love it.

After I made the bed and stood back to admire the quilt I called my grandma and asked her to tell me who made this. I couldn't remember if it was her mother or her grandma. She was so pleased to hear that I was actually putting your handiwork to use.

I still can't believe it myself in all honesty. The only thing I can come up with is that I'm so proud that someone from my family made this with her own hands. I'm sure it took weeks or maybe even months to cut each piece out, assemble it and make the whole thing come together.

I don't have the time or the patience or the desire to make something like this. But I'm really glad that you took the time to make this quilt. I wonder if you ever though of what might happen to it after you were long gone. Did you think it would passed through several generations of your future family?


I'm truly proud to have this in my home. To show it off. To admire it. And I'll be just as proud to pass it along to the next generation when the time comes.

Thank you.

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On a side note, I've made my bed every morning since I put this quilt to use. It must have magical powers because I never make my bed.

Oh, and, does anyone know a place that repairs quilts? There are a few places that need repairing and a few small water stain spots and I haven't a clue how to repair something of this nature. My great great grandma thanks you! Me, too.