Ah... the polyesters of the 1970s. They were prefect for their time.
My Mom made this quick crazy quilt of scraps from items that I suspect she made for me and my siblings. I'm pretty sure that blue with the "bitten apples" is from a groovy pant suit that I LOVED. And I'm pretty sure I remember wearing that minty green and tan plaid. Perhaps those are not MY memories... but rather my memories of photos. (Which reminds me of a post that someone should make sometime about what are truly our own memories versus recollections we have of photos, video, and for younger (than me) people, social media. I am the first in my family to have the reference of video of my life since my first year. I am the first to admit that I very often don't know what is my memory and what is my memory of photos and video.)
I also think I remember who wore some of these other fabrics. Both psychologists and legal professionals (e.g., lawyers, police, and the like) will remind us that memories are really not all that accurate. Some sociologists will remind us that reality is what we believe to be.
Today, I'll pay homage to the sociologists.
I have no recollection of my Mom making this quilt... but I do have some recollections of the fabric in this quilt and until a couple of days ago, I had this quilt in my possession.
Isn't it strange how we value different artefacts differently as time goes on. This 100% polyester (I'm sure... but I did not test it) quilt satisfies most definitions of a quilt. Had it been created a few decades prior to the 1970s, it might be considered a valued collection of collectors. Had it been made of scraps of grandma's old dresses (made of a natural fibre), perhaps it would make a statement of the struggles of Canadian pioneers. But it hadn't. This quilt is an artefact of the petrochemical successes of the mid 1900s.
The longer I look at this photo, the more memories I conjure. (Calling all psychology, sociology, and now, marketing professionals....). I (and I'm sure I'm not the only one of my age) quite wrongly do not put a lot of value on this particular quilt. It is made of polyester. It is now relegated to be used as packing material - which is what is was used as when I most recently received it - and is precisely what I used it as a couple of days ago. Part of me feels guilty and part of me does not.
Family history and all... I used this piece of art (that my Mom created) to protect something tangible - and what I and I'm sure others perceived to be 'more valuable' - as it travelled from one part of our vast country to another. Isn't it strange that we assign more value to "stuff" than we do to the holders of memories. Someone tells me that 100% cotton "stuff" is more valuable than 100% polyester "stuff" and that makes the difference between quilts that I treasure and quits that I use dollar-store packing tape to affix to other "stuff" that we all perceive to be more valuable that the hours and attention my Mom put into something we would use 40 years later instead of bubble-wrap.
I do know that that quilt will more than survive the journey I sent it on. I know that it will survive more similar journeys...
