The Comfort of Handmade: The Story Behind Our Quilt and Granny Square Jewelry

The Tradition of Handmade: The Story Behind Our Quilt Square and Granny Square jewelry

About 45 years ago, my grandmother asked my mom to help her make a small quilt for a new baby.

My grandmother had a lifetime of sewing in her hands already. My mom was just warming up. 

Together, they picked out fabrics, chose colors, decided on patterns…
and got to work. Like master and apprentice making something sweet and perfect for a baby on the way.

Not long after, my mom would be at her own baby shower, opening gifts that would be mine. One by one, she was no doubt delighted by all the thoughtful gifts given to welcome this new life.

But the most meaningful one was a handmade baby quilt. The one she had unknowingly helped make with my grandmother.

My mawmaw Jackie wanted her to have exactly what she wanted to wrap her baby in. And had found a perfectly sneaky (and wonderfully sweet) way to make that happen.

When people ask that question,
“What would you take if your house were burning?” My baby blanket is at the top of my list.

It’s the softest thing I’ve known my whole life. It kept me warm from the very beginning.

It was my first lesson in how love can be captured and carried in gifts made by hand.

Carrying on a Family Tradition of Handmade Quilts

When it came time to choose what to wrap my own new little baby in, a family tradition was born.

My mom came to town and we sifted through fabric scraps my grandmother had saved (I suspect for just such a project). We used wax paper to trace the designs from my well-loved old quilt. Some fabrics are the exact same. Some we had to replace.

The best part is the contrast, what 30 years of holding onto passed-down love looks like.

How We Created Our Quilt Square and Granny Square jewelry

That lesson has echoed through every piece we've ever made but especially though this new collection. One created with carving tools and wax instead of needles and crochet hooks, but made to honor all the hands, stories, and stitches that came before.

The Story Behind MIMOSA's Quilt Square and Granny Square Jewelry

A new way to carry some of our oldest stories.

As far back as the first found needle, we humans have been piecing together everything from prehistoric fiber fabrics to patchwork leather hides.

Our track record in textiles spans most of human history, and woven throughout it are the stories of who we were and who we’ve become.

A quilt of sackcloth scraps and a granny square blanket made from leftover yarn were handed down from both sides of my family tree. Under them, I feel a heartbeat close to the loved ones who made them.

From the earliest garments necessary for survival to couture creations fit for a queen, sewing and weaving have always been part of our story.

Across time, cultures, and countless civilizations, the idea of wrapping up in handmade warmth is universal.

In trunks and chests across the world sit woven, sewn, crocheted, and knit blankets, passed-down prized possessions of generations for as far back as we have memory.

Each one a patchwork of tradition, a link to loved ones lost, and a treasure that keeps us blanketed in the comfort of ages through the coldest seasons of our lives.

This collection is meant to honor all the weaves and stitches that came before, the best way I know how.

Shop MIMOSA's Quilt Square & Granny Square Jewelry

• Quilt Square Cuff — One Row
• Quilt Square Cuff — Three Row
• Quilt Square Earrings
• Quilt Square Pendant
• Quilt Square Ring

• Granny Square Cuff — One Row
• Granny Square Cuff — Three Row
• Granny Square Earrings
• Granny Square Pendant
• Granny Square Ring

Granny Squares: A Family Keepsake

After my grandmother passed away, I ended up with some of her unfinished granny squares. As a kid, I used them as blankets for my dollhouse.
But as an adult, I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them. I’m not skilled enough at crochet to finish them into a blanket…
but when I came across this frame at a thrift store, I knew exactly what I could use it for.

I framed one of my favorites so I could see it every time I’m washing dishes. After a few months of that, it hit me. A teeny granny square pendant would be so sweet. And that’s where this whole collection began.

A sign from the universe: Quilts beneath the live oaks

Just days before we launched this collection, I snuck away for the 8th grade field trip to New Orleans with my oldest. When it was time for lunch, they brought out the most beautiful handmade quilts for our picnic. 

 

What are the odds we'd be greeted with a garden of gorgeous handmade quilts scattered under the live oaks for us to eat our lunch on!?

 

I'd been deep in textile research and appreciation for months so seeing so many together was pure delight. 

More Handmade Treasures: Quilted Keepsakes 

Emily Milke is the talented artist behind EGM Quilted. When we initially launched this collection, we gave away a piece from our Quilt and Granny Square collection AND a gift certificate to EGM to put toward a custom handmade quilt.

If you've been looking for an heirloom-quality quilt, take this as your sign to check out Emily's beautiful work. 

I found this vintage quilted bed jacket at an estate sale. I got it for the fabric, thinking I'd alter it as a cute cropped jacket, but now I love it for the comfort and function just the way it is. 

For some reason, I've never worn robes, but this thing is changing my life (not to be dramatic). The sleeves are cropped so you can do dishes without getting wet, it's the perfect weight for almost any weather, the crazy patterns keep you from have to worry about stains, and the pockets are perfect.

I totally get why our mawmaw's wore them. You can find some cute vintage ones on eBay, Etsy, and Poshmark (but estate sale shopping for them is a way more fun adventure). :)

Woven into the Community: Quilting in Louisiana

• The Baton Rouge Modern Quilt Guild — Quilters of all experience levels are invited to join the Guild and learn from each other monthly.
  
• Louisiana State Museum's Costumes & Textiles Collection — Includes Louisiana quilts made from Acadian cottonade fabrics, Clementine Hunter quilts, and quilts tied to Hurricane Katrina.
  
  
• The Knots Bayou — Baton Rouge's only local yarn shop specializing in hand dyed yarn.