Quilts tell many stories – of happy times, holidays, hobbies, friendship, gardens and flowers, clothes and kids, marriage, new babies and being snug in warm beds, enveloped by love. Each quilt tells a different story, fashioned by the memories and experiences of the person who made it.

"Quilting has been a part of my life since I could walk," said Trish Hilgedick, an avid quilter in Missouri. "As a small child, I watched my grandmother, Goldie, cut out fabric pieces." Her grandmother drew original designs on cardboard, then cut them out to use as pattern pieces for cutting fabric into the right-sized blocks.

A Grandmother's Influence

Trish's grandmother hand-pieced dozens of quilts over her lifetime. One that Trish inherited and is especially fond of is a Snowball and BowTie quilt, composed of blocks of white snowballs edged with scrappy bow ties. The fabric was cut from the family's old, outgrown clothes, most of which Trish can remember. The fabrics remind her of the fun she had as a child while wearing them.

When Trish married in 1973, her grandmother gifted her with a lovely, pink, embroidered quilt. Goldie embroidered the blocks to make a one-of-a-kind wedding gift, while her mother, Nellie, bordered them with pink sashing. Goldie eventually made embroidered quilts for all of Trish's siblings, creating a family heirloom for each one.

People who have a quilter in the family are lucky – they often receive handmade quilts as gifts on special occasions, and these quilts become family heirlooms that are passed down over generations.

Acquiring a Quilting Habit

About 20 years ago, Trish made a baby quilt in a tumbling block pattern for her new niece. "That was my first quilt, but it turned out fine," said Trish. She enjoyed it so much that she started quilting regularly. Since then, she's completed several more baby quilts for relatives, as well as several dozen quilts of all sizes and numerous wall hangings.

Trish writes in her Quilter's Registry book to keep track of the many quilt projects she's completed. The book includes pictures of each quilt and notes about any special details of the quilt.

For example, in 2008, she "rescued" a quilt for her father-in-law. His mother had started a quilt in the Trip Around the World pattern, and had never finished the top. The tiny blocks were made totally from scrap pieces from old shirts and aprons and entire quilt was bound in black. Trish completed setting the top together and then machine-quilted it.

For a Christmas quilt, which she calls "My Favorite Things," Trish made a quilt with rows of pines, Santas, stockings and angels. She then added a border of wreaths and stars, which she designed herself, edged in green.

Quilting with Friends

Trish and several others started the Peacemakers quilting group right after 9/11. As well as getting together regularly for quilting, they've put on four quilt shows.

"Our first show featured Underground Railroad quilts," noted Trish. "These are quilts that were thought to have a message to slaves as they escaped along the underground railroad to freedom. Certain patterns were thought to tell the slaves that a place was a sanctuary where they could stop, or not to stop due to danger."

The group's most recent show featured quilts of all types, from familiar traditionals such as log cabin quilts, to bright Amish quilts, stained glass-type quilts, scrap quilts, friendship quilts, cross-stitched quilts, and even some three-dimensional quilts. In addition, the show included a grouping of patriotic quilts made by a group that honors those "touched by war" by gifting them with handmade quilts.

Quilting Trends

Quilting continues to evolve, with new trends and techniques. One technique, paper piecing, uses water soluble paper and is helpful for keeping quilt pieces squared up. Another recent occurrence is that quilt shops now make pre-cut, color-coordinated rolls of fabric strips available for quilting, called "jelly rolls" for small 1-1/2-inch-wide strips, and "cake rolls" in several larger sizes. This saves lots of time in having to decide on colors and in cutting. Today, the stigma of quilting as "women's work" is gone, and many men enjoy quilting as much as women.

The Next Generation

Quilting has come full circle in Trish's family. Trish inherited her grandmother's cardboard quilting patterns and some of her quilts, along with the stories, which she's happy to tell. Now it's her turn to gather the pieces, sew the designs and create new stories.