Quilters Through the Generations - Forrest Teegarden

Today it is an honor to feature the first adult male quilter in this series and to be able to say that he is my Uncle and a part of my family tree, makes it even more special!

Forrest R. Teegarden became interested in making a quilt several years ago because his sister, Carol & Melva were making a lot of quilts.  It must have been about 15 years ago...











Very early on in our quilting endeavors, Mom and I made fence rail quilts for numerous people.  I donated a good number of them to the assisted living facility where Grandma (Tressie Teegarden) lived.

This was apparently enough to spark an interest for him and given his physical limitations, it was good "brain" activity and something that he enjoyed.




Uncle Forrie shared that "One day I noticed a note in the local paper about a quilting class that was going to start so I went up to the small shop and signed up for the class. The lady that was going to teach the class showed me a bunch of different patterns and you had to pick one out for a $1.  You then needed to purchase the fabric.

You could use a cardboard template and scissors to make the block.  But the lady at the store showed me how to use a ruler and a rotary cutter which made it a lot easier and faster and more accurate and true.  They had a few sewing machines, but they filled up fast so I would take my own machine with me and piece the blocks there in class.  In each class we made a different block."

Uncle Forrie was a machinist by trade, so the importance of accuracy spoke volumes to him!  

"When I finished the blocks I had enough to make a nice sized Sampler Block lap quilt.  We had a "show and tell" at the end of the class and then we were on our own.

After the class I ended up making a quilt for each one of my grand-kids, a total of seven.

Here he is pictured with five of his grand-children and four great-grand-children.

This was the first quilt by Forrie for his grandson - Brandon, born in November, 2002


















Brandon's younger sister, Karissa, has a quilt that has a border and a signature square noting that Grandpa Teegarden made it in January, 2004.

Do you have any memories of your Grandmother quilting?
Grandma Teegarden quilted - Lala.  (here we are again!)  I remember that she always had a quilt frame set up for the quilting ladies from church - they were always hand quilted.  I remember that she made one for me - I don't remember how old I was - but it was just the 4" blocks sewn together (the comforters that were talked about in Lala's story)  

She made a regular quilt for me as well.  I don't have it anymore but I recall that it had a red and white (checker board?) border and some red blocks in the center, but I do recall having that quilt when we lived in Pueblo as a child.

My favorite pattern that Grandma Teegarden used was a Double Wedding Ring where the circles would intersect.  I liked how they locked together over the entire quilt to form the pattern.



My wife, Evonne, had made some "Memory Quilts" for our three girls after they had grown up and moved out on their own.  She made four patch blocks using fabric from the clothing that she had made for all three girls growing up.

Mom and my cousin Kodi had discussed this quilt and how there was fabric from her shorts and some other items that she remembered.  How fun!  I think that Evonne had made a memory quilt for herself as well, since this one was still at the house and yellow was Evonne's favorite color.







Forrie also stated that Evonne had made some (blankets for the first two grand-children) with pictures on them...

Since Mom & I can't recall ever seeing these, we are guessing that they were printed panels, backed with flannel and tied,  something like this one >>.  Uncle Forrie is unsure of where this came from, but it seems like a project Evonne would have completed.)










What is it about quilting that interests you?
When I see quilts I enjoy looking at the different patterns and colors.  Some are simple square blocks and others are more complex and make secondary patterns over the whole quilt.  

I enjoy visiting the quilt shows they have at the fairgrounds and fundraisers at the local churches - they have a lot of quilts all different sizes, colors and patterns.  

I never made one of my favorite quilts, but it had a sun in the corner with rays coming out to a point.  With all the different colors I always thought that I would like to try it but I never got that far.

I believe he is talking about a paper-pieced New York Beauty block...


It is unfortunate that Uncle Forrie's physical limitations have become ever increasing over the years and is no longer able to enjoy quilting.  But what a unique guy!  As my husband Dave says, "he can sit and have a conversation with me and discuss machining techniques, equipment and hunting & shooting and then turn around and have a conversation with you about quilts, fabric and patterns."

Thanks for stopping by Melva Loves Scraps and Quilters Through The Generations!  

What is your favorite quilt pattern?

Have you ever made a New York Beauty?

I'd love to hear from you!  Leave a comment below...

Quilt Happy!

Melva