7/11/08

Traditional pursuits for mum!

Yesterday we went along to visit my hand quilting group in the next town. This is my mum's fourth visit here, so she knows this group very well and has been before. But she always enjoys their traditional work, camaradary and catching up on their lives. My mum brought them traditional English Shortbread to have at snack time, which was very well received.

When I first arrived here, these older ladies were amongst the first to welcome me into this area with open arms and they have all become my good friends. They also taught me to hand quilt and they meet every Thursday for a day of fun and quilting. Since I have been working and am now full-time I can rarely go and it was so nice to spend time with them today.

This is where you learn all the really important local news and gossip, hear the best jokes and discuss some things that would definitely surprise you! I have also learned so much about the history of this area from them, but more than anything they are great fun and I am very fond of them all.

Yesterday one of the ladies needed a work top taken in and so she just bought it along for some help. In no time Anita had it pinned to fit and then my mum (in pink) and Peggy took over and did the sewing part for her. As my 'substitute' Grandma Irma commented (she is the closest lady to the camera on the left in the first picture) - this is how it was in the old days, all the women helping each other.

The ladies finally finished hand quilting this antique quilt today, it has taken them 4 months of hard work and it is now a thing of great beauty. The fabric in this was hand pieced by the owners mother from old sugar sacks!

12 comments:

Chellie said...

I love this post! Somehow, I don't see my generation ever doing this type of thing and it makes me sad. what a beautiful quilt!

Teresa said...

What a beautiful quilt! But the real beauty is in the hands and friendships that went into it, isn't it? Precious. How wonderful for you to have such a great group of ladies to be with. What happens to the quilt now?

Victoria - Florence and Mary said...

What a fantastic group to be part of!

Victoria x

Tess Kincaid said...

Oh, oh, what beautiful quilts and such beautiful ladies. I bet your mother thoroughly enjoyed this!

Almost American said...

What a beautiful quilt! I know quite a lot of quilters around here. Most are machine quilters though and although many of them go to 'classes' together that are more social than educational I don't think they often collaborate on quilts. We do have one family friend who makes the quilts completely by hand - she gave us small quilts for each of the kids when they were born :-)

Oh, and your mom was what, ten years old when you were born?

Daryl said...

What an amazing group of ladies .. and that quilt ... it would sell for a LOT of $$$ here in NYC ...

:-Daryl

Linda Jennings said...

Absolutely beautiful- the post, photography, the quilt and the smiling faces of these special ladies!! It certainly was a special way for you to spend a day in the USA with your mum!!

Sandi McBride said...

My grandmother called these Quilting Parties...and the ladies of the party were the bees, hence the Quilting Bee...somethings never change...I hope they never do!
Sandi

Wendy Hill said...

I don't quilt, but man do I want to be a part of a quilting ring! What great fun and fellowship and great results, too! When I was growing up, my parents used to have an event at our church called "Stitch and Chat," and I remember watching all the ladies revelling in their creativity and their communion.

Sherri said...

What a wonderful group and beautiful quilts. I think that bottom quilt is called Flower Garden and it really looks like one! What a special group of women-thanks for sharing this with us!

The Diva said...

Sarah, this post brought tears to my eyes as it reminded me of my granny and all the quilts she made. I still have several, and I even helped on a couple of them. A group of women @ church used to make quilts for our annual auction, and I made blocks for a couple of those, one of which covers my bed in winter.

I'm so glad you and your mum are having a nice visit.

Anonymous said...

That's lovely, I remember as a child watching my great aunts all sitting around working on quilts, great way to catch up on all the family gossip.