Handquilting

I always have a couple of portable quilts going; I can either take them with me or sit in bed, watch tv and work on them. That is what I did Sunday, I worked on the Autumn Leaf, applique quilt. It has 72 blocks and is done in fall colors.

The other quilt is the Grandmother's Flower Garden. I use paper pieces. I finally got all the middle yellow hexagons ready and I am working on the next pieces; the solid colors. After that I will work on the prints/calicos and then the cream color ones. I think the best part is when you start sewing the pieces together to make the "flowers". The sound of the paper rustling as you turn and sew...

When my daughter was in the hospital there was an old Amish couple there and she was working on one of these. She used black instead of the cream. It was absolutely beautiful! Me being friendly...I went over and sat next to her talking about the quilt. I could have spent hours watching her! Her granddaughter was in the hospital. I wonder what ever happened to their granddaughter? As we were eventually transferred out of ICU after the many surgeries my daughter had to endure, and I never saw them again...

All too often people are mistaken when they think the Amish actually would keep a quilt that would have prints in them. They don't! They think it "worldly". They only use solids in their quilts. That doesn't mean they don't use prints for us "english" people. As that is one way for them to bring money into their community, is by making and selling the quilts. BTW, they do use sewing machines; treadles.

I restored an old treadle, when it was given to me it didn't work at all; rusty. But, thanks to the internet, I found a few places that showed you have to restore one! My macine is way over a hundred years old! It proudly sits in my livingroom; the first thing people see when they come a callin'. I love it, and wish I had a whole collection of them!

The Quilt Lady