Knotted Quilt

This sweet little knotted baby quilt was made by one of the Sunday School classes as a shower gift for the youth leaders.  My only part was putting on the binding.  This morning.  For the shower after church.

I can't remember ever seeing my mother actually quilt, she always knotted.  Once or twice, as a young child, I can remember my grandmother's sisters and friends quilting at a frame in her dining room.  And when they all went home, I can remember my grandmother checking to see whose stitches weren't neat.

One sister in particular, who "drove a tractor like a man," got bad press for her too-big quilting stitches.  I was surprised to look at one of her quilts in later years and see that she could, in fact, quilt neatly when she wanted to.

Side story:  a few years ago my sister and I were driving down the Pandora, Ohio, road past what had been my great-aunt's and uncle's farm.  There was a sign saying "sweet corn for sale."  We didn't really want any sweet corn, but we drove up the lane anyway to catch a glimpse of the house and barn.  The owner had been a neighbor, and he told us, "You know, it was your great-aunt who was the farmer in that family."

I worked the past three days while most of my co-workers were at the International Quilt Show in Cincinnati.  This was fine with me - I'd gone the past two years.  I must have had quilt show envy, though, because I found myself placing a Superior Thread order a couple of nights ago, mostly for threads I haven't used before.  One was for a thread that can be used for hair and can take curling iron heat to 400 degrees.  Sounds like the perfect thing to use in my upcoming "My Favorite Thing" quilt.  I got red, of course.