Treasures

After our guild meeting yesterday, a friend let us examine some antique quilts from her husband’s family.

 

All date back to the 1840s and were made by Quaker quilters.  At least two of them were signature quilts, and what beautiful signatures they were.

 

The workmanship is fabulous.

 

I love the way this border was pieced and quilted.

She and her husband have been in talks with a quilt museum in hopes of finding a home for them where they can provide proper care for their preservation. 

 

Today I will be attending a guild workshop led by Cynthia England, and I gave my Featherweight a little TLC in preparation.  Much as I appreciate the conveniences provided by modern maches, it is always a treat when I can take it for an outing.

 

A few days ago, I spotted a roadrunner in our back yard.  It’s pretty unusual for us to see them in the neighborhood.  I had to shoot this photo through a window, so it’s not the best focus.

Quilt Retreat

My major accomplishment at last week's quilt retreat was finishing this log cabin top.  It has 2002 pieces and each log finishes at 1/2 inch.  I'll go into greater detail when the quilting is complete.

While at retreat, we took an outing to Heritage Quilt Barn, a part of the Homestead Heritage complex in Waco.  I found some fabric for the backing.  The dark red fabric in the center of the blocks will also be the binding fabric.

This was my first visit to Homestead Heritage.  Had time not been so short and if the weather had been cooler we could have also toured other parts of the crafts village including:   a pottery house,  blacksmith shop, cheese-making house, woodworking and fine furniture-making shop, and fiber-crafts cottage that features spinning, knitting and weaving. I have already told Bob that I would like a day trip there when weather cools.

The retreat was a much appreciated break from my routine.  Per usual, I ate too much and exercised too little.  When I got home, I immediately rolled my ankle, leaving me gimpy for a few days.  That gave me the legitimate opportunity to take a few recovery days and further delay household chores.  Now that I'm recovered, I guess I will have to reintroduce myself to the vacuum and dust cloth.

We have had no relief from our drought.  The weathermen classify it as exceptional.  At least the morning lows are now in the mid-70s rather than low 80s.  Today's high is expected to be 101.