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Click on quilt for full view.
Detail of the quilt:
I grew up in Wichita Falls, TX. My dad's parents were in the next county over, Clay County. They lived in flat lands on the edge of live oak forest. The house was white with a red roof. We had windmills to draw water up for cattle. The ponds, murky red from the red clay of the Texas soil, were commonly known as 'tanks'. I used a bit of artistic license here and made the water blue - after all, if the sky reflected at the proper angle, it would be blue. The area had plowed fields and from some vantage points you could see for miles. Look closely on the horizon. A boiling summer storm is definitely approaching.
My first year quilting, 1991, my grandmother, (Myrble Virginia Chesher Tims) passed away. It was in September of 1991. I was only a few months into quilting - but I was addicted to it. My dad had also started quilting. After her death, dad went to sort through her belongings. In the attic of the old house he found a box with bits and pieces of fabric scraps in odd shapes and sizes. They all fit into a shoebox. Dad gave the box of scraps to me and I decided to use her fabrics to make a wall quilt as a tribute to my grandmother and the family ranch. Hopefully you'll notice it is hand quilted.
I fell in love with the vintage fabrics in that box. Especially the western themed fabrics. The windmill bases and the same fabric used in the border was from one of her dresses. It is cotton sateen.
As each year comes and goes, I think about the connection I have to those who blazed a way for me. The end of a year is time to reflect and connect dots that help us to understand where we came from - and perhaps provide a bit of guidance as to what direction we should take moving into the future. This quilt helps me to remember my grandparents and the times we shared in the little house in Clay County, TX. May the flames of love never be extinguished. May they never be fully past and gone. We'll take a cup of kindness yet! I hope you will agree.
Happy New Year!
Auld Lang Syne - (Days Long Gone)
Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On auld lang syne.
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
TRY THE JIGSAW PUZZLE Choose your own difficulty. Click the 9-patch grid to change number of pieces. Click the circle arrow to make the puzzle pieces rotating instead of stable orientation. Also, there are tips under the "?" on the upper right of the puzzle. If you'd like a full screen version, click the button below. Have fun!
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