Well, think about this -- Christmas -- like most things in life -- often remembers better than it lived. Really...
When Mary & I took our historial tour -- we saw many examples of extreme sewing, most of it done 100 years ago. And I wonder how it was "received" at the time -- versus how well it has "remembered"...
Like this quilt made out of fair ribbons...imagine all the work and love that went into this quilt. But I wonder if the recipient was appreciative at the time? Maybe, maybe not...but I like to think the quilt itself was handed down from one generation to the next -- and became family lore before it finally ended up as an exhibit at the historial society...where thousands of visitors -- like Mary and I -- have gasped at the workmanship...
Because Geneseo was a stop on the underground railroad -- we learned a little about the "Secret Quilt Code"...and I think about the work and love the women put into these quilts with messages of hope and survival...
Certain patterns meant things to the fugitive slaves -- what direction was safe; their next stop on the underground railroad; how to avoid the bounty hunters...
There was a "signature quilt" folded on the back of a chair...
Here's a close-up of the women who signed the quilt...simple yet elegant, eh? I can just about picture the gathering of the women who got together to quilt it. Both of my grandmothers belonged to a "quilting bee" group. It was their biggest social event...
And -- THIS just might be in one of our future Ya Ya seminars. Can you see what it is? A beautiful "muff" -- with a zippered purse on the back! Who might have received this as a gift 100 years ago?
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