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Quilt collection holds stories from the past
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Published: November 17, 2009
Mona Knight, recruitment and retention coordinator at Home Instead Senior Care, has a passion for antique quilts, and has been collecting for years.
Her vast collection will be on display for the first time this week.
Knight's oldest quilt is from 1861, and was made by Mrs. D.H. Bloom in preparation for her wedding.
The wedding took place in Wisconsin, and on the quilt the soon to be Mrs. Bloom stitched the date and her married name.
The Blooms settled in Nebraska on a farm, in the southeastern area of the state.
The quilt was never used, and was stored wrapped in an old sheet in her hope chest.
The family said it was only brought out for a look at or to be refolded.
When Bloom passed away, she left the farm to her son, who sold her personal possessions at a farm auction in Nebraska.
Knight, who lived in Nebraska at the time, was at the auction, and purchased the quilt — and a piece of Bloom's life.
Those who collect quilts end up with more than just a blanket; they also are collectors of memories, Knight said.
"I try to learn the personal stories behind the quilts. I usually ask everyone about them when I buy them," Knight said.
Knight keeps an extensive notebook that details each quilt and its past.
She has become the keeper of these women's stories.
Knight will share the stories told through her quilts during an open house at Home Instead Friday.
The event will be at 904 Copperfield Blvd N.E., Concord, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and again from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
"Mona Knight will display her quilts, and there will be gift bags for the first 50 people who come," Robin Scharding, a community service representative from Home Instead Senior Care, said. "An Albemarle artist will allow us to display one of his paintings, which has a quilt in it."
The artist, Roger S. Thomas, will also donate 50 cards of the quilt painting, for the event.
There will be a special raffle, with proceeds going to the Alzheimer's Association, for a chance to win a quilted purse made by Henrietta's Handbags of Raleigh.
"We have lots of clients who suffer from Alzheimer's and dementia. I just feel it's really important to contribute," Scharding said.
Knight said she's also looking forward to telling the stories of her quilts.
"It's really knowing what women did in their lives over the years. My family has no quilts that were preserved. So ones that are intricately pieced, are really fascinating to me," Knight said.
She gained most of the knowledge she has about quilt collecting when she worked with the Arizona Quilters Guild for 10 years.
Knight was a part of the quilt documentation project that the guild conducted.
Members went to towns in Arizona and document the estimated age and pattern types of the quilts that were brought to them.
Knight has seen quilts older than her 1861, but explains they are hard to find.
"They are very fragile. Many of them are now in museums. Particularly anything with brown or green will start to fade. The dyes that they used are from natural elements and after a while start to decline," Knight said.
Knight explains the history of another quilt in her collection that was owned by Martha Tennessee Jenkins Littleton.
The blue and white quilt was made in 1870.
Littleton's husband served in the Civil War as a Captain.
The quilt was made after the war ended.
"Martha was born, raised, lived and died in the same log cabin in Roane County, Tenn. At the end, much like our clients, her niece and nephew took care of her. There was no one else to care for her. Her husband was gone, and she had no children," Knight said.
Through Knight, others will know the story of Littleton and her family.
"I love it. It's like you can touch history," Scharding said.
Contact reporter Robin L. Gardner: 704-789-9140
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