Aunt Gladys - My first Story Quilt

I moved in with Aunt Gladys when I was 10 years old after my parents divorced. Back in the day, divorced daughters often moved back in with their parents. My grandmother’s house was too small for my mom and three kids, so I moved next door to live with my Great Aunt and Uncle who had just become empty nesters… and the tribe was created! I soon discovered that Aunt Gladys was the storyteller of the family. She remembered everything and her stories were better than TV! Our whole multi-household family operated as a team - we did everything together, church, vacations, garden growing, green bean picking, only breaking directions for work and school - and everyone was either in school or working. I always had strong, smart, can-do women as role models - so my idea formed to create an Aunt Glady quilt that showcased her style and sense of adventure. My favorite photo of Aunt Gladys was her driving my grandmother’s 1956 Nomad Station Wagon - I wish we had that car today; it would be worth a fortune! I added a Shasta pull-behind trailer - Gladys never had one, but totally would have loved it. I loosely used a story about my Aunt and Uncle’s month-long cross-country trip- North Carolina, to Grand Canyon, to Yellowstone, to Seattle, Washington, to Los Angeles, and back. They actually saw Disneyland in 1956 when it was 1 year new! The idea of a map background design just evolved to go along with Gladys driving.  The last design decision was to make sure Gladys was in a tailored dress, hair fixed, red lipstick, and sunglasses… she always looked put together - 

I have fondly named this the ‘Gladys Quilt’. I want my grandbabies and their babies someday to have a sense of who Aunt Glady was and that remarkable people are remarkable because of their strength of character, sense of adventure, and love for family. I want them to know family is the whole family and as long as hearts are big, then life will be big too. I honestly wouldn’t have driven to the beach in the car my aunt and uncle actually drove across the country, yet they along with two teenagers traveled thousands of miles without cell phones, GPS, or AAA on a trip of a lifetime! What a great story to share and remember… and when my grandbabies wrap up in the Gladys Quilt maybe her story will give them the confidence to go after their dreams…