Saturday, August 28, 2010

AN OLD QUILT


I tried to part with this old beauty, but no one wanted it.  It is faded and lacks luster and there may be a tiny bit of fraying going on around the edges.  It's probably nearly a century old, judging by the fabrics.  Or not.  Perhaps it was well-loved and reached for to the point of exhaustion.
It's creator was meticulous and purposeful in the placement of the blocks.  She/he also had a sense of playfulness and daring - do you see that green triangle?  
It floats alone in a sea of brown, blue and beige and rust.  It gives pause -  causing one to ruminate on the possibilities of one green triangle.  I like old things very much, especially fiber antiquity.  Whatever possessed me to want to send it away in the first place has passed.  I've come to revisit its beauty and charm and that one green triangle may hold a lesson that I need to learn.  


On a lighter note - what in the HELL is up with my carrots?
This one seems poised and ready to go skipping down the street!  Each one that I have dug has presented with multiple limbs!  Andrew seems to think that they were left in the soil too long.  Scott wondered about the rockiness of the bed.  I always remember my father leaving his carrots in until the first frost - proclaiming that this made them sweeter.
And they are gigantic - bigger than my hand!  The "black carrots" are, thankfully, normal -
I am just returning from a small hiatus and will have some fun to share, I promise, soon.

6 comments:

Exuberantcolor/Wanda S Hanson said...

The carrots gave me a good laugh this morning. I needed that! Thanks for sharing!

Kay said...

Those carrots made me laugh out loud! I'm still chuckling.

JelliDonut said...

That carrot looks like my feet if I have too much salt on a margarita.

BTW, guess who got a very adorable pin cushion in the mail today? Many, many thanks!

Diana LaMarre said...

Whoa! Those are some carrots! lol

You are the sort of person that I hope my quilts end up belonging to. I often wonder who will get them and if they will just toss them aside or use them for paint rags (**gasp!).....I can only hope that they find a home with someone like you who will appreciate them enough to keep them when nobody else wants them.

I am sure that whomever made that quilt is sending a silent thank you your way.

Paulina said...

There was a time in my life when I had access to a closet full of old quilts that belonged to a rooming house I had charge of. Back in the early seventies. Each quilt was a "put together" quilt. Not works of art like we have today. Bits and pieces of men's shirts and children's clothing. Old dresses, table cloths, sheets. They were wonderful. i marveled at each one as i wondered if i could ever make such a thing. yes, thread bare, useful. i had to keep them clean as the tennants used these on their beds. I kept one for myself for a long time until I gave it to a friend of mine who lost all of things in a fire. For me, the old quilts were the works of art because they were a challenge to place the fabrics available just so to make them look like a pattern. Today we go to fabric stores to choose our designs. In the poor days, women worked with nothing and turned their quilts into something. THAT was art.

I salivate over your garden offerings

Bea said...

I think the quilt is lovely, however that carrot is just scary.