Making a Flower Garden

My friend J. and I decided to make it a weekly thing to get together and "stitch and bitch". Today she got going on a quilting project that will eventually become a wall hanging. The pattern is called "Grandmother's Flower Garden" and it's a challenging one. Because of the hexagonal shape of the pieces, the best way to do it is entirely by hand stitching.

I love the names of the old quilt patterns. Some, like "Clay's Choice", commemorate historical events. Henry Clay was an American politician who was well known for his anti-slavery stance in the pre-Cival War days. Some argued that if Clay ever wanted to be elected president he should moderate his views, but he replied "I'd rather be right than be president." Other patterns are simply descriptive, like "Windblown Square", "5-Patch Star" or "Windmill". Still others evoke humor, like "Rob Peter to Pay Paul", "Wild Goose Chase" or "Broken Dishes". My favorite ones are those that evoke a strong image in my mind like "Storm at Sea" or "Road to California". The beauty of the old quilts and the skill that went into them always amazes me. Women with very little created these objects that were useful, thrifty ,and best of all, beautiful.