As I get ready to leave home, I look about at some of my favorite things. I know I'm going to miss my Covered Wagon wall hanging. Let me explain. The Hal Humber, Resnich, Kessner families came West over the mountains in a covered wagon. A slew of crazy quilt blocks came with them. My friend, Mary Lou Humber, restored many of the blocks and made a full sized quilt with them. Four blocks were left over and she gave them to me.
The four blocks were in rough shape, uneven, frayed. A couple pieces shredded while working on them and had to be replaced by modern materials that fit with old materials. Material from my husband's old ties matched quite well. Now, the wall hanging has become even more personal.
One block had to be augmented on one side to make it fit with the other three. Pieces of lace cover frayed areas and help hold the piece together. I rescued little bits of lace from an old slip and a pajama top to sew onto the blocks.
Crazy quilts are known for their creative stitching and odd shaped materials. The philosophy, so I'm told, was why cut off even a precious point of this beautiful material when you can save it all? Years ago, people even re-used thread when taking apart a garment. Thread was tougher stuff then.
So, yes, I'll miss my wall hanging, but know I have it to come back to. It represents, friendship, (Mary Lou), family, (my husband's ties) and my own work. A labor of love; a treasure.
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