Last weekend we had an unexpected snow, which added a little bit of magical charm to a morning at Old Sturbridge Village with the New England Quilt Study Group (a subset of the AQSG).
I felt a little shy about going on my own (the old "who will I sit with at lunch" middle school feeling), but once there, as is per usual with quilters, I found the room to be friendly and welcoming. It was so fun to finally meet in person the delightful Wendy from Maine and her friends (Check out Wendy's blog The Constant Quilter); Barb from Connecticut (Fun with Barb - another great quilter and blog); Carole and Tisa from Vermont, who were so welcoming to me back in October when I first joined this group; Laura from the NEQM, and others!
First we enjoyed an excellent presentation of 1830's-ish quilts. This one was a "knock our socks off" quilt:
Who says antique quilts are drab?
Look here for more images and information about this beauty.
Here's another one -
More about this pieced and stenciled quilt here.
The cameras really came out - especially when we were allowed an up close look. Quilt paparazzi!
We then toured around the village and saw some beauties within the buildings:
This sweet one - an Eight Pointed star dated 1822 - is the kind of quilt I just love -
More about it here.
The snow outside helped to cast such pretty light into the small rooms.
There is a word in Japanese - natsukashii - when we are reminded fondly of something - (think smells that take you back to your childhood; hearing an old song from the summer of 19_ _ ) and I really felt it here a few times, remembering how so many years ago when our kids were in elementary school, we belonged to Sturbridge and visited often. At some point, my girls (aged maybe 7 and 8) saw quilts here which prompted me to make them each a quilt. Noelle had seen a sawtooth star and wanted that (hers - purple!). Kaela a classic nine patch (in her trademark PINK). A sweet memory.
Anyway, if you love old quilts, consider joining the AQSG. And if you are in New England, check out the New England Quilt Study Group on Facebook. If you decide to join, let me know so that I can look out for you at the next event!
xo
Cynthia
