A New Generation

We don't miss an episode of Antiques Roadshow at our house. I am always amazed and a little envious when a woman brings in a necklace or a ring that was passed down through the women in her family--and then finds out it's worth tens of thousands of dollars.

The maternal-line heirlooms in my family are textiles. Quilts, doilies, needlepoint, and bits of lace that my hard-working foremothers made to fill their time productively and beautify their simple homes.

We are impatiently awaiting the beginning of a brand new generation in my family, and that baby will receive this quilt. My grandmother pieced it. My mother remembers cross-stitching the little animals. I quilted it. The new arrival will be the fifth generation in that line.

At auction, I would expect this quilt to bring...very few dollars. However, I hope this baby will someday appreciate the women whose creativity, resourcefulness, and love for their family is represented in this everyday item.

I wish I could pass down a 9-carat, European-cut, Edwardian platinum diamond ring instead.

Then again--maybe I don't.

Just kidding. I really do wish it was a huge diamond. But this quilt is what you're getting, kid.