Q is for Quilts

 

April marks the 15th anniversary of my blog, so during the A-Z blogging challenge, I will be sharing previous posts from over 2,100 I have written.

I wrote this post about quilts in July 2013. I have written other posts about quilts since then, especially on the Barn Quilt Trails we have done. Also, an update on the quilt I was working on when I wrote this. I still haven't finished it. :)

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Quilts

Quilts from museum exhibit

I love quilts. So when the neighborhood museum opened its quilts exhibit, I hurried in to see it. On display were many quilts made by local quilters. Some of the quilts were old, and some were new, but all of them were beautiful.

 As I was perusing the exhibit, I thought about the quilts I grew up with. I had one with a flannel backing for the winter and a lighter-weight one for the summer. I slept with one of those two quilts every night for years. They were made by my grandmother for me, and all of the work was done by hand. However, they looked different than the quilts I was seeing in the exhibit, as neither one of my quilts had a particular pattern with regard to color or shape. My grandmother used whatever inexpensive source of fabric she could find, often from old clothes, whether or not they matched. Those quilts were very representative of much of the way my family was (is)--very practical.

I also remembered another quilt of my youth--one that I started as a teenager using squares of fabric cut from old jeans that I had. I pieced several squares together, but never got much further than that until a couple of years ago, when I got it out and decided that I was going to finish it. I got additional fabric and made it big enough to fit a twin bed. However, I ran out of steam. Maybe someday I will finish it. In the meantime, I like to look at it and remember the different jeans that are represented and what was going on in my life when I wore them.

Now, I have a new quilt interest--barn quilts. These are large quilt squares painted on wood and hung on the side of barns or other outdoor structures. I see them occasionally in my travels, and it's always fun to find them. Also, Uncle Billy has started to make them, and if I can figure out how to hang one, he will make one for me.

Did I mention I love quilts? See some of them below.

Part of the quilt exhibit at my local museum.

Quilts made for me by my grandmother. Left: Winter, Right: Summer

Lucy checking out my in-progress quilt.

Some of Uncle Billy's Barn Quilts.
(Patterns in a clockwise direction: Lemon Star, Bear Paw, Rolling Star) 

Another one of Uncle Billy's Barn Quilts. (Pattern: Indian Maze)
 (Picture from Shelley at Intermittent Farm Report.)

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Until next time.....

Thankful Sunday, February 10, 2019

I am thankful for an afternoon of exploring.

Last week was a tough week. There's been a lot of difficult things going on for a while now that are just a part of life. Most of the time I cope well with them, but sometimes I don't. Last week was one of those weeks. Everything caught up with me and my brain was in overdrive trying to process them all. I guess that's a necessary thing then and again, but not much fun. So when the weekend came, I was ready to do something mindless with Ward.

The weather was in the low 20's F which was too cold for me to enjoy much outside, so we decided to pickup where we left off last May with our barn quilt tour. We got our map, GPS, and snacks ready and off we went.

The weather was clear and the countryside was beautiful where we were driving. Some of the area we had been through before, but some of it was brand new to us. We had easy conversation in between our stops and Ward especially loved exploring the new areas. As the sun set, we headed home where we found a pot of stew that Theo had made. A very welcome ending to a good afternoon. Just what I needed. So for an afternoon of exploring with my husband, I am thankful.

Here are barn quilts we found and the name of their quilt square design.

Churn Dash

Seven Pointed Star

Alice's Cross Stitch

Carpenter's Wheel

Dell's Prairie Girls

Log Cabin

Lone Star

Stars and Bars

Dresden Plate

Some of the quilts were on the sides of barns that were not used any more and some of them were on barns that were part of large active farms like this one.

Thankful Sunday, June 10,2018

I am thankful for a day away.

Recently, Ward and I had one of those days when we needed to get away from our chores and worries and do something different. I keep a folder with ideas for just such days. When someone tells me about a place to visit or I see an interesting brochure or article, I put it in. Later, if we need an idea for something to do, we pull out the folder.

This time the folder guided us to a local barn quilt tour and we spent the day searching out quilt patterns.  Most of them were on working barns, but a few were on other public buildings such as an art center. Sometimes we could get close for pictures and sometimes we were far away. Part of the fun was exploring new areas while finding them. Not always an easy thing, even with an address. We found about half of them and will find the rest on another restless afternoon.

So for this day away, I am thankful.

Here are the ones we found with their pattern name. You may be able to tell from the pictures that the day started out foggy and remained overcast.

Birds in Flight

American Homestead

Generation Star

Black-eyed Susan

Corn and Beans

Country Fair

Sunflower on Star

Shriver Millstones

Crazy Quilt

Stairway to Stars

Tulips in a Basket

Quilts

Quilts from museum exhibit

I love quilts. So when the neighborhood museum opened their exhibit on quilts, I hurried in to see it. On display were many quilts made by local quilters. Some of the quilts were old and some were new, but all of them were beautiful.

 As I was perusing the exhibit, I thought about the quilts I grew up with. I had one with a flannel backing for the winter and a lighter weight one for the summer. I slept with one of those two quilts every night for years. They were made by my grandmother for me and all of the work was done by hand. However they looked different than the quilts I was seeing in the exhibit as neither one of my quilts had a particular pattern with regard to color or shape. My grandmother used whatever inexpensive source of fabric she could find whether or not they matched. Those quilts were very representative of much of the way my family was (is)--very practical.

I also remembered another quilt of my youth--one that I started as a teenager using squares of fabric cut from old jeans that I had. I pieced several squares together, but never got much further than that until a couple of years ago when I got it out and decided that I was going to finish it. I got additional fabric and made it big enough to fit a twin bed. However, I ran out of steam. Maybe someday I will finish it. In the meantime I like to look at it and remember the different jeans that are represented and what was going on in my life when I wore them.

Now, I have a new quilt interest--barn quilts. These are large quilt squares painted on wood and hung on the side of barns or other outdoor structures. I see them occasionally in my travels and it's always fun to find them. Also, Uncle Billy has started to make them and if I can figure out how to hang one, he will make one for me.

Did I mention, I love quilts? See some of them below.

Part of the quilt exhibit at my local museum.

Quilts made for me by my grandmother. Left: Winter, Right: Summer

Lucy checking out my in-progress quilt.

Some of Uncle Billy's Barn Quilts.
(Patterns in a clockwise direction: Lemon Star, Bear Paw, Rolling Star) 

Another one of Uncle Billy's Barn Quilts. (Pattern: Indian Maze)
 (Picture from Shelley at Intermittent Farm Report.)