The Stories Told by Quilts

I'm so fortunate to have made such good friends through quilting.

Carol Duncan invited me to go to the Shelby County Historical Society Quilt Show this week.  I had planned on doing something else but she twisted my arm (didn't take much twisting) and off we went.  The main draw, aside from the quilts, was a presentation by Lois Griffith.  I've mentioned Lois in a previous post.  Lois taught me to paper piece and has taught me several other things, too.  You'll see more of the things I've learned as I complete the projects.  But I digress.

Lois was the speaker at this gathering.  She gave a wonderful talk on the stories told by quilts.  I've seen several of her quilts and they are wonderful.  But the stories behind the quilts make them even more special.  And Lois has such a wonderful way of telling stories!  She also has a quilt journal that is just phenomenal.  It includes not only what's going on but has sketches, pictures, and ideas for quilts.  I've not really journalled in the past but seeing the types of notes in her journals was inspiring.

Now - the good news is that Carol and I volunteered to hold up Lois' quilts while she was giving her talk.  That meant we could see them up close and personal.  Unfortunately, that means I don't have any pictures of her quilts.  (Sob)  But...

Lois (in black with her back to the camera) talks with Becky Mathison and Sara Millis while others examine the details of her quilts.

Close up of Lois' African Quilt.  What I learned here was that including the selvage of the fabric can sometimes provide valuable information about what is used in the quilt.  Often the selvages include the date of the material design.  You can see it above the jug.  I didn't get the picture rotated - Sorry!

At the conclusion of Lois' talk and a delightful lunch, we toured the quilt show.  I've found that I sometimes don't take pictures of the entire quilt.  In fact, I found that I'm more intrigued by the quilting patterns so my pictures tend to be of specific designs of interest.  For example... 

 

Look at the beautiful quilting done by Jackie Foster on this Lone Star quilt.

Margaret Eck Feitig made this beautiful quilt in 1900.  Stunning.

Just look at the quilting.  Exquisite!

Harriet Colby made this quilt in 1860.  Her trapunto on this quilt was quite interesting and this particular motif was used only two times on the full sized quilt.  I love the effect.  She included trapunto vines the length of the quilt.

After we toured the museum, we stopped at Rivers Edge Fabric to check out their fabrics.  They are housed in the same building as Hospice of Shelby County and I spent some time catching up with a wonderful friend who works there.  Hi Charlene!

We also shopped at the Hospice of Shelby County Thrift Shop.  We found some items that will make their way into our Quilt Boutique at our quilt show this fall.  We'll have to see how artsy I can beome in the next few months!

Cheers!

Margaret