The Family Circle

Now that I have discovered Mary Criswell's older sister Agnes Smith I though I would see where her block fits in the Chester Criswell Quilt.

This is the centre of the quilt.  The large block in the centre is Andrew and Alice Criswell, Mary and Agnes's parents.  E3 is Mary Criswell's wreath which is the same as D6, Martha Lambourn's.  (The pattern is the same but not the date - Mary's is dated March 13th 1852 and Martha's is 4th Month 2nd Day 1852.  Mary was a Presbyterian and Martha a Quaker.)
Mary's sister Margaret is F4 and I'm not surprised to find that the 'new' sister Agnes is next door F5.  There are other important blocks here too.

C3   William Criswell, one of Mary's brothers (deceased)
C4   Alice McClellan, Mary's Godmother
C5   Lizzie Lambourn, Martha's younger sister
C6   J Dickey Smith,  Agnes Criswell Smith's son and Mary's nephew
E6   Martha Richmond, Alice McClellan's niece

One of the unanswered questions is as follows:

Who made the quilt?

My first assumption, now called Theory A, is that Mary's mother Alice made the quilt. There are far more relatives represented than friends on the quilt, many of them older cousins and aunts. But would Alice put herself and her husband in the middle of the bride's quilt?  It doesn't quite make sense.

Theory B:  Mary McClellan Criswell made the quilt herself, asking her family and friends to make the blocks.  She put her parents in the centre partly as a thank you and partly as a source of her own 'familyness.'  If Mary already had her dozen quilts in her glory box this could have been the thirteenth special quilt.

 (from Wikipedia - The term "hope chest" or "cedar chest" is used in the midwest or south of the United States; in the United Kingdom, the term is "bottom drawer"; while "glory box" is used by women in Australia.)

"This album's then a wreath for thee"

Theory C:  Martha Lambourn organised the quilt and the collected blocks were given to Mary as an engagement present. The verse on Martha's block suggests a gift from friends; the verse on Mary's suggests receiving such a gift. This was certainly common in the 1850s although pieced identical blocks would be more likely than the large appliques of this quilt.  But would Martha have contacted all of Mary's relatives, and why would she put Alice and Andrew in the middle?


Theory D:  All of the above, but I will never know for sure.  If we had all the answers then there would be nothing left to wonder about. 

Photos of Martha Lambourn's Block 12

Did you enjoy Martha Lamborn's block?  I found it challenging myself but I was very pleased when I finished it.

Block 12 Martha Lambourn

This block was one of the blocks in the original quilt that had me convinced I could never be clever enough to make this quilt.  How glad I am that I was wrong!

On Facebook today I came across a post by James Clear.  James was writing about Richard Branson's successful lifestyle.  This quote stood out for me.

If you want to summarize the habits of successful people into one phrase, it’s this: successful people start before they feel ready. Branson has started so many businesses, ventures, charities, and expeditions that it’s simply not possible for him to have felt prepared, qualified, and ready to start all of them. In fact, it’s unlikely that he was qualified or prepared to start any of them. 

 If you’re working on something important, then you’ll never feel ready. A side effect of doing challenging work is that you’re pulled by excitement and pushed by confusion at the same time. If you’re working on something important, then you’ll never feel ready. A side effect of doing challenging work is that you’re pulled by excitement and pushed by confusion at the same time.You’re bound to feel uncertain, unprepared, and unqualified. But let me assure you of this: what you have right now is enough. You can plan, delay, and revise all you want, but trust me, what you have now is enough to start. It doesn't matter if you're trying to start a business, lose weight, write a book, or achieve any number of goals... who you are, what you have, and what you know right now is good enough to get going. We all start in the same place: no money, no resources, no contacts, no experience. The difference is that some people — the winners — choose to start anyway.

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The Autograph Age Part 2

Some of the participants in the Chester Quilt added a verse to their quilt block.  Mary Criswell's verse reflects her receipt of the quilt as gift from her friends.

'My album is a garden plot

Here all my friends may sow,

Where thorns and thistles flourish not

But flowers alone will grow.'

Mary's best friend Martha Lambourn made an identical block to Mary's.  Her verse could be on behalf of all Mary's friends.

'Not I alone, this wreath will twine

But all thy friends who write a line

In this receptical of thine

Shall form the wreath in unity.

This album's then's a wreath for thee

Sacred to love and memory

And every name a flower shall be

A pure bright gem of constancy.'

Mary's sister Margaret continues the garden theme.

'The golden sun of summer

Hath never shone more fair

Than on the odour of the dying flowers

Which lies so sweetly on the air.'

Mary Stubbs states the obvious.

'Like a leaf we all must die.'

Margaretta goes for a round about message with round about writing.

 

'Round is the ring that has no end
So is my love for you my friend.'

But Jane Trayner has the last word with the classic:

'Remember me when this you see.'