Ep 000: an introduction to Patchwork Revival, a new quilting podcast!
Welcome to the introductory episode of Patchwork Revival, the podcast that celebrates the connection we find through quilting!
So first things first - what is this whole “patchwork revival” thing?! Sit back and relax for this one, y’all!
As mentioned in this episode, I learned basically everything I needed to know about quilting from my late grandmother. I hear this same story time and time again - so many other quilters learned to quilt from their mother, a neighbor, a favorite aunt, a friend…in my life, it was my grandmother, and I am so thankful to hold all of the knowledge that she passed onto me. Now, over two decades after she first taught me to piece patchwork and quilt it by hand, quilting has become such a huge part of my life that I want to pass on the legacy she left me to as many people as humanly possible. I want to become other people’s “quilty godmother” and share all of this knowledge with anyone who wants to hear it!
Quilting is a generational connection.
In the world of “millennial quilters” that I follow online ( and am a part of!), there has been a sort of push to separate the “modern” quilting practice from “our granny’s” quilting practice - the quilts we are making are “not our granny’s quilts!”. I totally understand that desire for autonomy and independence, but I am going to push back juuuuuust a little on that, in the kindest way that I can. I have so much respect for the generations of quilters who came before us - aside from literally inventing the idea of a patchwork quilt, and then actually creating it, THEN documenting the process and sharing it with others, they have paved the way for our current quilting practices, and I think it would REALLY surprise people to learn about the things we have in common with these pioneers of quilting! One of my goals in this podcast is to take a deep dive into how quilting has evolved in the context of historical events and cultural shifts into this incredible thing we love to celebrate and claim as ours.
We all have a personal quilting history worth sharing.
The second component I want to bring to the show may be on the thing I am MOST excited about, and that is preserving personal histories as it relates to quilting. Episode 1 - will be entitled Cora Lee, where we will talk about my grandmother and her quilting legacy. Throughout my preparation for the episode, I have found myself feeling ALL the emotions I would imagine that I would feel - I miss her so much, I feel happy, amazed by her life but also slightly shocked at some of the things she went through. Mostly, I am SO thankful to have all of these stories in one place. A lifetime of being with her would never have felt like enough time, but now, her story will be recorded and find its place in history. THAT is pretty amazing. I have big plans to bring even more of these personal histories to life, and I am SO excited to share them with you on this podcast!
Quilting is about creating a legacy.
Finally, I am going to focus on sharing ways that we, as quilters in the 2020s, can make sure we pass on and share our legacy. Whether you’re conscious of it or not, YOU are creating a quilting legacy! Someday, your great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, godchildren, or some special person in a thrift store will look at the beautiful quilt you’re making in this exact moment, and will wonder about YOU. When was this made? What was your life like when you made this? There is something so special about being intentional with the legacy you create, and I hope to encourage us to think a bit about the quilts we create in such a context.
So how can you support Patchwork Revival? For now, the best way to support the podcast is by subscribing to the show and leaving a review. Leaving reviews could help this humble little show make it onto the charts! That would be pretty amazing. In the future, there might be a way to contribute financially to support the show, but my primary goal is truly just to share this thing that I love and enjoy so much. So hit subscribe to make sure you don’t miss any further episodes
Thanks for tuning in, and we’ll see you in Episode 1!
