Grandma Chambers’ Quilt Narrative
February 2005
“I couldn’t let my children go cold. I could make a quilt out of anything. I make a quilt out of old britches. All they had to tell me they were cold. If I didn’t have old britches, I would sew strings from old clothing on newspaper. It took a long time, but I would make a square and then another, and then another. My children would help. Soon I had a new quilt. We called them, “string quilts.” I could not stand for my children to say they’re cold. And I would set to make ‘em a quilt.”
The Author’s Perspective on Quilts
Quilt making, has always been a part of the African American narrative. There is even speculation that during the time of slavery, enslaved people used quilt-making to stitch secret codes to guide passengers as they traveled on the Underground Railroad. These patterns conveyed messages and provided vital locations needed for the travelers of the Underground Railroad. One such pattern was “the wagon wheel.” When it hung outside in the slaves’ quarters, it alerted would-be passengers that it was time to prepare for travel.
The making of quilts is a testament that we were here, an affirmation that “Our lives did matter.” They took what others discarded and created something wonderful. The grandmothers and great-grandmothers of the past made these quilts to beautify their homes, tell stories, hide codes, or simply keep their families protected from the elements of life. Nothing was wasted: flour sacks, old overalls, any piece of cloth, and even old strings were used. Putting together one patch after another, after another, what emerged from those patches was a glorious transformation of will and strength—all stitched together to form a Family Legacy.