Quilts Archives

February 8, 2015

Birthdays 2 and 4

In another of an infrequent series of posts about how living in Florida in the wintertime isn’t bad, I invite you to a birthday party for Son Adam and Wife Carly’s boys this weekend. Both of them have birthdays in February – Graham is 4 and Elliot is 2 – so they have a combined party for now.

Back up to September: Wife Lila’s niece, Laurie Everett of Annie Laurie’s Antique Shop fame, had a toy tractor that had come in from an estate sale. Lila said I should pick it up for the boys and haul it 1100 miles back to West Palm Beach.

Tractor made it to Florida

We decided that Christmas had so much going on that we’d hold the tractor until Birthday Season. It was well received.

Is this a good idea?

Graham was all about the bounce house, but he wasn’t convinced that going down the slide was a good idea. I remember that feeling the first time I climbed onto the high dive at the Capaha Park Pool.

Dad comes to the rescue

Dad Adam was a little more sympathetic than the pool lifeguard who growled, “Kid, those are one-way steps. There’s only one way back, and that’s off the end of the board.”

Graham remained unconvinced. He’s going to be the conservative kid in the family. I remember him complaining at last year’s party “That music is too loud.”

I’m alive to see 5

THERE’S a kid who is limp with relief that the experience is over and there’s a chance he’ll be alive to see his fifth birthday.

Here’s trouble

Elliot is going to be the one who, like his dad, will try anything at least once. As soon as he figured out how to climb up to the top of the slide, he was beating feet to do it again and again.

A gift of love

Lila is a quilter. Not one of those machine quilters, but an real old-time hand quilter. She made a snowman quilt for Matt and Sarah’s Malcolm, and a similar one for Graham.

She presented Elliot’s to him today. When you are two, it’s probably not as cool as a tractor, but he’ll appreciate it over the years.

Graham and Elliot are expecting a brother to come along in a couple of months, so Lila better get busy.

Graham with his quilt

Graham knew right where to find his quilt in his bedroom. (You can click on the photos to make them larger.)

May 21, 2014

Levy County Quilt Museum

When I told Wife Lila that the Warriorettes and I were going to stop for the night in Chiefland, Florida, she sent me a link to the Levy County Quilt Museum just outside of town. She said it looked like it was small enough that we could see it all in about 15 minutes.

As it turned out, the place was HUGE.

Open Tuesday – Saturday

It’s open 10-3 Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free, and there are plenty of volunteers around who are more than happy to talk with you about quilting in general and the museum in particular.

Visitors from all over

The volunteers are especially proud of the maps they have showing where their visitors come from. The East Coast is well-represented, but they get international visitors, too.

I stuck a pin in for Cape Girardeau, Curator Jessica marked Athens, Ohio, and Anne tagged her past and future home of Texas.

Political quilt

One quilt contains neckties worn by Presidents Ford and Carter, plus ties worn by more than two dozen governors.

History of the museum

A brochure says, “In 1983, the Log Cabin Quilters were formed and met in various homes throughout Levy County. Two of the founders were Mary Brookins (1934 – 1988) and Winelle Horne (1924 – 2012). Over the years, interest grew in building a place to call their own. From 1988 – 1990, the members raised $18,000 and, with the aid of a 99-year lease on this site from Thomas Brookins (Mary’s husband), the construction began in 1993. Inmates from Lancaster Correctional Institution worked four days a week for four years helping in the construction of the building.”

Photo gallery of quilt museum

The place is full of interesting exhibits and relatively inexpensive hand-crafted items for sale. Click on any photo to make it larger, then use your arrow keys to move through the gallery.

April 21, 2014

Celebration of Red and White Quilt Exhibit in Altenburg

I live with a quilter and have several friends who are deeply into the craft, so I can appreciate how much work goes into a handmade quilt.

The Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum in Altenburg is hosting A Celebration of Red and White quilt exhibit through the end of April (not much time left to get up there). The exhibit is the personal quilt collection of Ann Meyer Hazelwood: author, former president of the National Quilt Museum, quilt appraiser, public speaker, and quilting expert.

The exhibit features world class examples of historic and modern quilts with a red and white theme, as well as a large collection of ornate Victorian-era red embroidery on white linen “Splashers”–used to protect the wall from wash basins.

The exhibit is open daily through April 30, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.; 75 Church St., Altenburg, MO. Admission is Free. For more information call: 573-824-6070 or go to the museum website.

The staff and volunteers are friendly folks who will make you feel like you’ve known them forever. Tell ’em I sent you.

Photo gallery of quilts

Click on any image to make it larger, then use your arrow keys (or click on the sides of the photos) to move through the gallery.

July 14, 2012July 14, 2012

Y’All Come To My Party

If you don’t count key lime Daiquiri parties that burned out three blenders in the mid-1970s, I haven’t been involved in many parties. Here’s an invitation to one being held at the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum in Altenburg Tuesday, July 17, at 7 p.m.

I’m speaking on Regional Photography and showing off my photos at a conference at the museum in October, so this is a chance for folks to help me weed down my print selections and get a sneak peek at some videos I’ll be presenting then.

Museum director Carla Jordan assured me that appetizers and cocktails will be served. Being as how this is a pioneer German community, there’s a good chance that “cocktails” means beer.

You don’t have to dress up

I’m wearing jeans, so don’t worry about pulling out your fancy duds.

One of my favorite bike rides is from Cape to Altenburg (here’s the scenic, if not most direct route). If you haven’t driven it, you’re in for a treat. You’ll be going through beautiful rolling farmlands.

One caution: Carla says keep your eye open for deer. She’s been spotting a lot of them on her drive to and from Cape. I’ve seen a few. They’re pretty grazing in the fields; they’d be a lot less attractive in the middle of the road.

There’s a quilt show, too

If you don’t think it’s worth driving all that way just to see me, the museum has a “Quilters of Lutheran Ladies Aid” display of quilts made by local women.

Quilt photo gallery

Here’s a gallery of some of the quilts.Click on any image to make it larger, then click on the left of right side of the picture to move through the gallery. Here’s a link to the museum’s website.