Crazy Quilt Comfort
My grandmother, Mary Mae Lydick Norenberg (1910-2003) was a crafter and a creator. Working within her means, she created many decorative items for her home and for gifts. She sewed her own clothes, produced crafts to sell at her Ladies Bazaar and taught me the value of creating much from a little.
Leftover Fabric
During my younger years, I spent several weeks each summer at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. This was truly a time for my creative-self to be nurtured.
In their basement, Grandma had a bin of all of her fabric scraps. Seriously, ALL of the scraps. From this assortment, I was allowed to make little creations.
One summer, Grandma and I made a family of finger puppets. Originally, there was a Grandma Mouse, Grandpa Mouse, Girl Mouse and Baby Mouse. Only Girl Mouse survives. Note the hand-stitching; I was not machine-sewing yet.
Doll Clothes
Utilizing more of her scraps, Grandma was a champion doll clothes maker. When I was 4, I received a precious Christmas gift: Big Baby. Yes, I named the infant-sized doll, “Big Baby.”
For that same Christmas, Grandma presented me with a trunk full of clothes for the doll. This is Big Baby’s only surviving outfit.
More Doll Clothes
Grandma made an extensive wardrobe for my Barbie. Unlike Big Baby’s clothing collection, Barbie’s apparel remains archivally packed away. Grandma utilized her scraps to construct all manner of clothing for Barbie:
- dresses
- skirts and tops
- slacks and blouses
- evening wear with elbow-length “gloves”
- real fur coats
- sweater ensembles
- pajamas
- knit slippers
- crocheted accessories (purses and hats)
- and even, underwear
Crazy Quilt
My favorite item that Grandma Mae created from her scrap collection is this Crazy Quilt. Crazy Quilt, that’s what Grandma called it. She machine-sewed small fabric pieces to a 13″x13″ backer fabric. Then she stitched the squares together to form a 48″x72″ quilt.
This is more than a blanket to me. Wrapped in this quilt, I am comforted by the memory of my Grandmother’s love. The Crazy Quilt is a tangible reminder that beautiful things are produced from what someone else would discard. When I curl up with the Crazy Quilt, I see more than fabric scraps and Grandma’s creativity, I also see:
- matching Christmas pajamas
- a first-day-of-school dress
- doll clothes
- aprons
- dresses, including 3-armhole wrap-arounders
- blouses
- my brother’s Batman costume
- Girl Mouse’s skirt*
- Barbie’s dress*
- Big Baby’s only surviving outfit*
* Did you find these 3 fabric scraps in the quilt?