A Louisa May Alcott quilt based on Little Women made by four great-aunts for one special great niece! Marmee reads a letter from their father to her little women. On November 29, 1832, Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She grew up to become an author, publishing her first an d most famous novel Little Women in two parts in 1868 and 1869. The stories of the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy have touched the lives of many girls who could identify with them as they carried on their lives with their mother, Marmee, while their father was away during the Civil War. Like all sisters, they all had their own personalities. Meg, the eldest, was the serious, responsible sister who marries John Brooke, the tutor to the boy-next-door Laurie, and had a set of twins Daisy and Demi, and then Josie. She lived the traditional life of a 19th century woman. Jo, the tomboy of the family, had literary ambitions and railed against traditional female roles. She guarded her independence but later in life she found her soulmate in Professor Bhaer and marries. Beth, the gentle sister, saw herself as always prattling, playing her beloved piano, and being helpful at home. She quietly admonished Jo to give her a different perspective on her views. Her kindness was extended wider than her home as she helped a mother care for her sick children and contracted scarlet fever, which weakened her immune system and she died young. Amy was twelve years old as the book begins. Unlike her sisters, she had blonde hair and was rather vain. Jo annoyed Amy, and Amy retaliated by burning a book Jo was writing, not knowing how important it was to her. They remain on bad terms until the winter day when Jo and Laurie go ice skating and Amy follows. She was unaware the ice was thin and she fell through. Laurie rescued her. Realizing she could have lost her sister, Jo lets go of her anger and they reconcile. While Beth had scarlet fever, Amy was sent to live with her Aunt March as a precaution. Amy was artistic and Aunt March suggested she go to Europe with her Aunt Carroll where she could immerse herself in the art scene. She ran into Laurie while there and the two married soon after Beth’s death. Back in the mid ‘60s, I vividly remember the older girls, including my sister Karen, on the Peace Lutheran school bus discussing Little Women when I was in the third grade. They particularly liked to talk about their favorite sister and how heartbreaking it was when Beth died. When I was nine or ten, I started reading all 449 pages and loved it too. The book Little Women is so esteemed that at least seven theatrical/television adaptations have been made along with a musical. Many famous actresses have played the four sisters. The cast of the original movie, made eighty years after the book was published, featured Janet Leigh – Meg, June Allyson – Jo, Margaret O’Brien – Beth, and Elizabeth Taylor as Amy. In 1950, the Ladies’ Home Journal produced a Marion Cheever Whiteside Newton Story Book Collection pattern based on Little Women. It included appliquéd scenes with embroidered touches, from Marmee reading a letter from her husband while the girls gather round, to Meg and John’s marriage, Jo writing at her desk, Beth playing the piano, and Amy with Aunt March. I came across this pattern earlier this year on Etsy, where it was listed for $50. A few months later, Cathy Christoff called me and told me she was downsizing and had reached the point where she wanted to find new homes for her quilts. Her friend Dan Katter, who happens to be my website guru, assisted her and suggested that she bring them to Born Again Quilts. Cathy arrived later that Saturday with several quilts, and among them was this Little Women quilt! Cathy told me how her grandmother’s sisters, her great-aunts Bea, Nellie, Alice, and Irene, along with Nellie’s daughter Charlotte, made it especially for her when she was eight years old. Three of them embroidered their names in the blocks, making it an even greater treasure. The pattern shows dark pink as the background for the blocks. The great-aunts and niece chose to make theirs yellow. That became problematic when it came to Amy’s yellow hair. In Cathy’s quilt, Marmee and her daughters all have black or shades of brown hair. When Cathy reflects on this quilt, she fondly remembers her mother Ginne talking with her great-aunts and cousin Charlotte while they quilted it. Four wonderful sisters making a story quilt of four sisters: Sisterhood at its finest! Note: This pattern is available at Etsy shop CraftCharlie. It has been reprinted and can be sold since it entered the public domain in 1978. Lois Levihn is the owner of Born Again Quilts located at 4005 South Wayne Ave. If you have a textile story to share, contact her at 260-515-9446 or bornagain [email protected] ...read more read less