My Christmas 'Inheritance'...Pictures

13 years ago

This is bittersweet but I had to share. My MIL passed away last week. About 15 years ago she either bought at a craft show or a friend made for her, a quilted Santa. The material is made from a very old quilt. I BEGGED her to give it to me. lol. But she refused. I told her one day I was going to steal it from her when she wasn't looking. :) We both love old quilts.

Before we started clearing out her house yesterday I announced to everyone that "if you find a quilted Santa, it's MINE." They all laughed. High in the closet and wrapped in paper my dh found the Santa!

It's a lot bigger than in the picture, and stuffed very tightly. Perfect condition!

I'm leaving him out all year. He's just too precious to hide in the closet. :)

Below is another item I found. I'd never seen it before and no one else wanted it. This is also made from a very old quilt and hangs on the wall. It has old buttons on it. I may leave it out also.

It's the width of a hanger which I think is on the inside but it hangs from a ribbon.

Comments (12)

phonegirl
13 years ago
Sorry to hear of your loss.

The santa and angel are both adorable. I'm so glad you ended up with these. It's funny what appeals to one doesn't interest others. I'm happy to hear that you will cherish both of these that was DMIL's.

The santa is so cute. Is his little boots made out of material? Love the jewelery added on the angel. This is a great way to display some of our DGM and DM's jewels and doilies. Do you care if I copy these and try making some?

Punk
Oakley
Original Author
13 years ago
Punk, feel free to copy them! The shoes on the Santa are made of a thin "leatherish" material.

I sure wish I knew who made the angel though and whose jewelry it is.

I made a mistake, she passed away two weeks ago.

If you do make some and I forget to check here on the board, email me through GW. I adore crafts made with old quilts!
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nana2010_gw
13 years ago
I am sorry for the loss of you MIL. She must have been very special to you. The Santa and Angel are precious I'm sure you will always treasure them.
NanaK
phonegirl
13 years ago
Will do. Wish I had some of the old quilts here in the house and I would make one today. I saved the pictures with your name attached. Did you asked the others if anyone knew where she came up with her angel?

Thanks for sharing this and being so willing to let me copy.

Punk
Oakley
Original Author
13 years ago
Punk, no one even remebered the angel so they have no idea. But I think I do. My MIL was very close to her mother, Dovie. My MIL was a fantastic embroiderer and one piece she did, she had some buttons put on that came from her mother's old clothes. I'm assuming this may be Dovie's jewelry.

Here's some pictures of my MIL's stitching. She traveled miles away once a month to go to her Guild meetings at 80 years old!

Now I own about 15 of her pieces of stitching. And that is just a small portion of her work.

Here is a 3-D sled she did, I have it hanging in my LR because it's too pretty to hide.
jeannespines
13 years ago
You are lucky to be given such memorable quilt & embroidery projects of your MIL...may they bring comfort & good memories for you, your DH & family in days to come. A talented woman! TFS! Jeanne S.
oldalgebra
13 years ago
Oh my gosh! I think that some of the piece your mother-in-law did might be called crewel embroidery. Crewel embroidery was a sort of raised, 3-D embroidery. Did you ever hear it referred to as that? It's very beautiful. It looks like your mother-in-law was an expert. I imagine we can't really see how intricate and detailed it is.

You are lucky to have such beautiful pieces that have such beautiful memories.
phonegirl
13 years ago
Beautiful pictures! I think OA is right on. Looks like your mother-in-law was an expert and looks like crewl embroidery to me too. Both of these are wonderful.

My DGM embroidered alot. I need to go digging when it gets nice and see if I can find any of her things she made. Seems like I remember a pillow that was done on black fabric.hummmmm

So glad you posted these.

Punk
plainjane425
13 years ago
I'm so sorry about the loss of your MIL.
Sounds like she was quite a special lady who did some
very beautiful needlework. They will be treasure for you always.
I'm happy that you'll be able to enjoy her Quilted Santa that you loved.
I think that Angel is so sweet too with her 'special' jewelry.
Enjoy them all.
jane
luvstocraft
13 years ago
Oakley, I too am sorry for your loss of your MIL. I'm sure she would be thrilled knowing that you will keep and treasure her special santa and angel as well as her stitchery pieces. Luvs
lynninnewmexico
13 years ago
What beautiful memories to inherit from your dear MIL. That hanger angel is darling!
Oakley
Original Author
13 years ago
Yes, she was an expert and it is a form of Embroidery. One of her "guild" ladies told me that at the funeral.

We're happy that she did so many pieces over the years because now everyone in the family got quite a few of them, not counting the pictures she gave us at Christmas.

Now if you REALLY want to feel sorry for me, get this, my brother died 11 days before my MIL. :(

I got the news of him being in the final stages of COPD on New Years Day while I was cooking black-eyed peas. Can you believe that? I don't know what to think now. lol