Touching Time
I went to a quilt show yesterday. It was an absolutely beautiful display of quilts in all colors and sizes — some completed with great expertise, some by slightly less accomplished quilters. Several were traditional in nature and started me thinking about the women who traveled west in covered wagons, bringing these patterns with them. Designs from the eastern part of this country and before that, from places across the ocean. Patterns that had been handed down generation after generation, passed from mother or aunt, cousin, grandmother or friend. Patterns that had specific meanings, like the “hidden in plain view” quilts that directed slaves northward to freedom. Patterns like Grandmother’s Flower Garden, Double Wedding Ring or Drunkard’s Path, Jacob’s Ladder, Log Cabin and many, many others. I love it that this tradition continues. I think that quilters actually touch time.
I want a Drunken Path quilt. I like the name
Mary, my grandmother and two of my aunts were quilters. They made beautiful quilts and did everything by hand, with stitches so small you could barely see them. My grandmother made a quilt for each of her 23 grandchildren. I think of her every time I see mine. Many years ago, I worked on a musical called Quilters. If you ever get a chance to see it, I think you would enjoy it. A pioneer mother teaches her daughters life lessons through various quilt patterns and by the end of the play, you have this magnificent quilt. By the way, I am enjoying your blog and wish I had more time to comment.