Quilt Dating and February 11 Quilt Celebration!

What an awesome night!  Shirley Taylor came and helped us date some wedding ring quilts that will be on display at the quilt show.  I was absolutely fascinated by what she was able to tell us about them.  From knowing the date by recognizing fabrics she personally knew from the 30s from her own clothing and that of her mom and grandma, to knowing a color's origins were in Dresden dyes before the bombing in WWII destroyed the dyeing plants and rendered the colors impossible to replicate, she was able to impart a wealth of information.  Thank you, Shirley, for the wonderful lessons and for enabling us to know which quilt to put with which dress for the quilt show!

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Jessie brought her Irish Chain to celebrate tonight.  She told of how the quilt came about.  The green 2-ish inch squares were found in the fabric room at the Nazarene church a few years ago, many of which had orange in them.  The borders grew from not being able to find an orange or a green that worked.  In the end, the blue was best.  Maggie designed Celtic Cross knots for the orange squares which Jessie hand quilted.  Her label describes the significance to her of the colors of the quilt in terms of Protestant and Catholic influences in Ireland, and Saint Patrick, as well.  Thank you for sharing this, Jessie.  It was delightful hearing about it.

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Barb shared her whole cloth quilt done in red on white.  It's so beautiful.  I wish the pictures did it justice.  It is entitled "Welsh Beauty" and she made the quilt in honor of her Grandpa Pete, who if I have this right, was from Nantyglo, Wales.  Thank you for the story, Barb.  The quilt is just lovely.

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Marla brought her "Apple Crisp" quilt done in Civil War reproduction fabrics, the pattern for which she got from APQ.  It's for her niece as a wedding gift.  It is so warm and inviting -- I love the colors.  Barb machine quilted it for her.  It's lovely, Marla.

What a show we're going to have!!!

Happy Quilting!!