Turning Down the Quilt

How well I remember the days when visiting my grandmother.  At the end of a busy day I would always find the bed turned down, just so.  The freshly laundered and line-dried sheets and pillowcases would not have a wrinkle in them.  It wasn't until many years later I learned that she had painstakingly ironed them.  (Don't look too close here, you will find wrinkles!)  

Time seemed to tick slower then.  In fact, even the sound of time pleasantly resonated through the hardwoods of a Mantle or Grandfather Clock nearby.

And the quilts!  I don't remember the patterns, but I remember the cheery colors and the smell of their being hung on the line.

Isn't it amazing how kind acts of service can be so influential?  Today I try to recapture those feelings in the quilts I make and give others, especially to my family.  

I have both of my guest rooms ready to provide comfort for visitors. Pillowcases, quilts and even a Mantle Clock can be found.  It's just something I've learned through the loving hands of a grandmother, decades ago.

But of late, this is the only interested guest I've had...  

The Black Ear-tufted Squirrel is indigenous to ponderosa pine forests, and we've got plenty here in Black Forest.  He not only lodges in them, but relies on them for a food source.  Well, today he's getting a bit of amendment to his pine diet by eating the birdseed falling from a bird feeder overhead. 

The quilt featured in this post is one I've had hanging in my closet, unfinished, waiting for vintage jadeite fabric for the outside border and binding prior to quilting.  Barring a trip to Kansas to catch every estate sale, my search proved fruitless.  In this process, I learned it's not only my favorite vintage color, but many others', as well.  So, I did the unthinkable and purchased a yard or so of contemporary Kona Cotton Solid Aloe to allow this quilt to be quilted in (what else?) feathers.

To close, here's a sneak peek at another of my enduring* projects, which is getting closer to the quilting process!  It's made entirely of vintage materials, including repurposed pillowcase fabric.  I have one more block to do but ran out of old pillowcases.

*"Enduring" means it waits and waits and waits....

So, the next time you have visitors, I hope you remember to Turn Down the Quilt and allow time to slowly tick by as you enjoy their visit.  And I also hope that these seeds of love you plant will blossom in a continued legacy through the lives of your loved ones, as it has in mine.