First of all, sorry. I’m sorry it’s been a long time since I posted. I dislike the phrase “In all honesty,” as if you weren’t being honest to begin with, but that’s the best phrase I can think of at the moment. To be honest, working on all things quilts is fun but I have limited time to devote to it. I’m trying to squeeze in more time both to quilting and researching. With Covid, I pretty much stopped traveling for quilt-related things, either because I didn’t want to get out or the people and places I wanted to visit were closed. Now that much of the world has a new normal, I’ll start traveling, writing, and speaking more.

For an update, I taught two ladies how to quilt in my home studio. I finished a few quilts and had several items in a quilt show this year. I am working on an extended charity project. And I’ve spoken to a few groups via Zoom or in person about quilts in Alabama. The last engagement was at Pebble Hill in Auburn. There were so many beautiful quilts and talented speakers! As an added bonus, I was able to see several friends from around the state while I was there. Below is an image from my talk at Auburn’s Pebble Hill.

The more I research quilts in the state, the more I realize what limited availability people had when choosing fabrics, batting, threading, and trims. Before the mid-20th century, most of these supplies were what was already in your house or what you could swap with a neighbor. Even stores filled to the brim with dry goods may not have quality fabric or batting. So many quilts from my grandparents’ age are gone, I suspect, because of inferior materials and hungry insects. And that is a tragedy –imagine all the patterns and color waves we miss never having seen them.

So when I come across a particularly interesting quilt, I want to share that story. And that’s really what this blog and my (hopefully one day) book will be about.

Thanks for reading and staying with me –

Beth