Friendship and family come together in antique quilt

PART ONE OF A MULTI-PART STORY
  • STITCHED WITH LOVE An old friendship quilt bears the names of some Turkey quilters. Sheila Smith and Barbara Brannon (in hat) display the quilt in the midday sun on Bob Wills Day in the Bob Wills Museum parking lot. Smith took the quilt to Turkey in hopes of finding it a home. | PHOTO BY HANABA MUNNWELCH
    STITCHED WITH LOVE An old friendship quilt bears the names of some Turkey quilters. Sheila Smith and Barbara Brannon (in hat) display the quilt in the midday sun on Bob Wills Day in the Bob Wills Museum parking lot. Smith took the quilt to Turkey in hopes of finding it a home. | PHOTO BY HANABA MUNNWELCH

    If a quilt is not a labor of love, it’s probably not a quilt. Nothing says love quite like a quilt — especially a friendship quilt with the names of the makers embroidered on the squares.

    When Sheila Smith and her husband recently bought a house in Levelland, Texas, she rescued four quilts abandoned by the previous owners. One was a friendship quilt.

    Smith has a heart for quilts. So does her nonagen…