Before I left on vacation, I was having an e-conversation with a fellow quilter about levels of quilt crazy. I was admitting that my 50 state blocks idea was nuts, but not as insane as a Dear Jane quilt. She countered with her planning for a Millenium Quilt challenge to use a block to symbolize something historical for each year of the 1900's. (She subsequently lost interest during the planning and it was never made.)
That got me thinking about my father-in-law who lived from 1908-2002. I was always amazed at the technology and lifestyle changes that happened in his lifetime. He remembers seeing an airplane for the first time as his dad was about to be deployed to France during WWI. A drive through Yellowstone park took 2 weeks in a model T and required the car to be ferried across the rivers. And to think that we were annoyed when he wouldn't learn how to use a VCR to play a movie.
These thoughts evolved into a Personal History Quilt, but to commemorate the first 80 years of my mom's life. (I'll make a pillow or something for the next 20). I pitched the idea to Mom, with whom I was traveling. She picked out the first blue at our first quilt shop in Laramie, WY. Unfortunately, it's a rather challenging blue to match, but I did pick up some other pretties along the way. I plan to use white-on-whites for the background.
While we drove, I quizzed mom about significant dates in her life and will come up with traditional blocks to symbolize those years. Some are easy - like "Farmers Wife" for the couple years that my dad ran the family dairy farm. "Road to California" when they were stationed at Fort Ord. Some of the blocks I will be able to make at the same time as the State blocks (ie Road to California in both red/white and blue/white).
I also discovered on
The Farmer's Wife Quilt blog, that there are some 6" block templates available free, for anyone who wants to do this along with me. And the author has planned a 2nd book in the series to come out next year. I will certainly purchase it as well, to save on planning time.
That got me thinking about my father-in-law who lived from 1908-2002. I was always amazed at the technology and lifestyle changes that happened in his lifetime. He remembers seeing an airplane for the first time as his dad was about to be deployed to France during WWI. A drive through Yellowstone park took 2 weeks in a model T and required the car to be ferried across the rivers. And to think that we were annoyed when he wouldn't learn how to use a VCR to play a movie. 
These thoughts evolved into a Personal History Quilt, but to commemorate the first 80 years of my mom's life. (I'll make a pillow or something for the next 20). I pitched the idea to Mom, with whom I was traveling. She picked out the first blue at our first quilt shop in Laramie, WY. Unfortunately, it's a rather challenging blue to match, but I did pick up some other pretties along the way. I plan to use white-on-whites for the background.
While we drove, I quizzed mom about significant dates in her life and will come up with traditional blocks to symbolize those years. Some are easy - like "Farmers Wife" for the couple years that my dad ran the family dairy farm. "Road to California" when they were stationed at Fort Ord. Some of the blocks I will be able to make at the same time as the State blocks (ie Road to California in both red/white and blue/white). 
I also discovered on The Farmer's Wife Quilt blog, that there are some 6" block templates available free, for anyone who wants to do this along with me. And the author has planned a 2nd book in the series to come out next year. I will certainly purchase it as well, to save on planning time.
1 comment:
What a delightful idea! Looking forward to the next installment of thoughts! Lovely fabrics, even if the first posed a challenge...you met it well with the other selections! Thank you for a fascinating post!
Post a Comment