We were clearing my late mother-in-law's house earlier this year. She had a quilt on the spare bed, a traditional one made of hexagons in sevens with a common colour joining them together. We knew it wasn't her work, and it was clearly made from scraps, or clothes, beautifully done, but not my colours, and we really didn't have room for it. We reluctantly decided it would have to go to the charity shop.
That evening we popped round to the next door neighbour (they had been neighbours for almost 50 years), and I mentioned that there were all sorts of things in the house that must have sentimental value to some people, but it was very difficult not knowing who. She said, very tentatively, 'There is a quilt - it's on the spare bedroom bed - that my mother made from my and my sister's summer dresses when we were children. I don't suppose I could have it? I don't have any of my mother's quilts.'
We went and got it, and she took it from us, hugged it and cried.
How awful if we had taken it to a charity shop.
Not that that answers the question of what to do with our own quilts that may be beautiful, but don't have sentimental value to anyone else.
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