Monday, July 30, 2018

The Story of a Vintage Quilt, Dreams, and Cherries...


Can a time-worn and tattered quilt symbolize something intangible, like a deep hope and dream held in the heart? 

I think it can. And for me, it did.


When I spotted the quilt at a yard sale that I look forward to each year - in a colonial-style neighborhood that feels like going back in time - hope for my dream was hanging by a thread. It was nearly five years ago, and we had a contingent offer in on what is now our little farmstead. The home we were living in had been on the market for several months, and our renewed contingent offer was about to expire...


We could almost taste the change in lifestyle we craved for our family. We dreamed of our three active boys running free on acreage, playing and exploring. We wanted to get them a dog that our oldest son had been begging for. We - okay I - pictured chickens and sheep in the backdrop of our home, a vegetable garden, and entertaining friends and family outdoors. My husband was set on a fire pit where he said our boys would sit around and talk to us as they grew older... 


We prayed. We hoped. We worked hard to keep our current house "show ready" for any potential buyers who may drop by - not the easiest task with a 4, 7, and 10-year-old. It felt like we were running out of time. Would the seller of the little farmstead renew our contract again? Would we keep our house on the market with young children over the holidays? Would it sell? 

When I saw that lovingly-stitched quilt, I pictured it at the farmhouse. I remember telling myself - half filled with hope and half preparing myself for disappointment - if we get the little farmstead, the quilt will be perfect! And if we don't, I can always sell the quilt... In my heart, that vintage quilt represented hope.


Just a few weeks later, a family came through and was excited to purchase the home we were selling! We moved into our little farmstead the week before Thanksgiving, and we have not stopped giving thanks for this wonderful refuge where we are blessed to raise our children since. I think we had to pinch ourselves every day that first year. When spring came, it was like Christmas. New things were popping up all over the yard. We discovered we had three cherry trees on our property. 

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Nearly five years later, when I see the quilt, all those memories and feeling come back...

Do you have a similar story of a keepsake that reminds you of a significant hope or dream you held on to? Or maybe you are looking for something you can tangibly hold to remind you to pray, hope and dream for that desire that's in your heart? I'd love for you to share in the comments below...

Xo


 Looking for wooden berry baskets, vintage quilts or farm buckets? 


Wooden Berry Baskets | Vintage Quilts | Galvanized Farm Buckets

8 comments:

  1. What a sweet story !!! We have a beautiful quilt made by my husband's grandmother from old vintage men's neckties. It is the most beautiful thing and dear to our hearts. It has hung in the stairwell of our "dream home" for 24 years now. Our "dream home" is a 1926 bungalow/tudor style farmhouse which was a run down mud hole when we purchased it. Over our 24 years here, we have restored the original structure and property (3/4 acre) and added on a large garage, mother-in-law apt., large kitchen and formal dining room. It is now registered as an historical landmark and sits in the middle of our small city of Gresham, Oregon. I think having grandma's handmade necktie quilt hanging here was and is a blessing. I now also make quilts and have made many from old, donated neckties. Thank you for sharing YOUR story with us !!!

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    1. Oh Cherie - I love your story! What a special quilt and home... they both sound like labors of love. If you get a chance, I would love you to email me some pictures of your house to: littlefarmstead@gmail.com

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  2. Lovely story! I love vintage quilts I buy them when I find them I think they always have stories behind them, I picture all the church woman sitting around a grand table all sewing and chit chatting of the days farming The cherries look super yummy too! Lisa @ Sweet Tea N' Salty Air

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    1. Yessss! That is a wonderful picture of times gone by, and I agree - they all have a story. Shortly after we had our first baby, I was given a handmade blanket that someone in a knitting group in the church had made. She didn't know me personally, she just new that her hard work would bless a new mom and her baby. I will never forget it. It was a large, beautiful blanket that must have taken hours and hours to make. She never even got to see the person who received it and the joy she brought... It was an anonymous gift of love!

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  3. I'm hoping my kids have memories of some sort. Quilts are so tactile, like a favorite stuffed animal. Lovely post---and I can see why you love living where you are now.

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  4. A few years back, I kept my high pymt home mortgage receipts in a folder, of which I prayed over daily. I had a dream to change my life, get out of the rain drenched skies of WA, slow down, simplify and most of all be mortgage free. I put my 3 bd, 3 ba home in the country, in WA on the market. It was difficult to say the least, to work 3 jobs a day as a single woman and hide 7 Rottweilers and 2 shepherd mixes while realtors showed my house. We all hid in my tiny house on wheels(pics on my blog) while hm showings were in progress. But where was I to live next? I prayed and felt God leading me across the U.S. to the Appalachian mtns. On a sheer step of faith I purchased a 120 year old 570' sq ft farmhouse online and sight unseen, in a town that I had never stepped foot in or head of. Nor did I know anyone in that part of the world. After a year of showing my large home it finally sold and I loaded up my family of furkids and drove 3,300 miles across the U.S. to arrive at my little farmhouse in these amazing Appalachian mountains. I have never regretted one day since I moved here. God is faithful and finally I am mortgage free praise GOD. I hold onto that folder filled with high mortgage payment receipts as a keepsake of sorts and reminder of the goodness of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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    1. I love your story Tonita! Thank you so much for sharing and encouraging us!

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  5. I also meant to tell you how beautiful your home and pictures are. The quilt holds many stories I am sure. Wouldn't it be fun to see where each little square of that fabric came from? Old dresses, blankets, kids clothes or fabric from the general store? Quite a story. I love the soft colors of it.

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