A few years ago I visited a quilt show in a cavernous hall at Edgemont UMC in Florence, Alabama. On the whole, the quilts were masterfully pieced and quilted. One particular quilt caught my eye as it was in honor of a local landmark, Tom Hendrix’s Wall. The wall was built by Tom Hendrix in honor of his Native American ancestor, Te-lah-nay. As a young lady she was forcibly removed from Alabama to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears. Heartbroken and homesick, she made the trip back to Alabama on foot, an incredibly long and harsh journey. I enjoy talking about this quilt, but you might want to know more of the history without me rambling on. If so, please visit this page. To my knowledge, Tom Hendrix’s Wall is the largest non-mortared wall and the largest built to honor a Native American woman in the United States.

Recently I was honored to take possession of this quilt for a short time. Full disclosure: part of that time I was a wreck knowing I was in possession of it, even if it was safely locked away. In fact, the quilt’s creator said she’d never let anyone borrow one of her quilts before. No pressure.

The quilter is Mrs. Louise Morrison of Lauderdale County. You aren’t able to fully appreciate this quilt on the screen due to Louise’s dedication and expert craftsmanship that the camera just can’t capture. Louise visited Tom Hendrix’s Wall and was inspired to recreate a scene in quilt form. In addition to her creative applique, she used a few muslin pieces and wax sticks (similar to crayons) to rub tree bark texture into the fabric (note the lighter colored trees and branches). She also took pictures of the rock formations and transferred those onto fabric sheets (several places in the quilted rock semi-circle). So the image you are looking at is not just a quilt honoring Tom Hendrix’s Wall, it’s a piece of it.