madamekelly

I went to an estate sale in my neighborhood yesterday and found out that the owner was a prolific quilter I had never met. The display of quilts was stunning. All very nicely displayed, and had appropriate pricing. As I turned away from the display, I noticed one quilt was under the table in a box, kind of wadded as opposed to folded. I reached down to pull it out since I noticed the "sun bonnet girl" in one square. The lady working at the estate sale said "you don't want that ugly thing, it was her first ever quilt." I spread it out and looked at it, and decided to rescue it. The lady actually said "if you want it, I will let you have it for $15"! I nearly sprained an arm paying for it before she changed her mind.

Here is my new, hand made, obviously a first, quilt. It reminds me of my first couple quilts I made before I knew what I was doing, and knowing it was her first, makes it all that much more special to me. I took a second look at her other quilts and know she took the time to learn better methods, better color/batting choices, and how to really quilt and bind a quilt. Today I am going to see if I can find out the lady's name and put a label on it (I actually have a small piece of one fabric that will match perfectly). I have never seen this particular pattern before with the sunbonnet ladies sitting down. I do think that the ruffled pantaloons, and hand embroidery shows how hard she worked on this beauty. When I find her name, I will call it ____'s quilt.