Grandma’s Quilt Block

The fabric scraps she cut with care.
All sorts of shapes placed here and there
to form a block, then two, then three…
Put them together- a quilt for me.
Unknown

Our community’s historical society has some quilts that women in the years gone by have made. They brought them to the quilt club that I attend. Some were made at the turn of the century and some in the early 1900’s. Some were family quilts that were made by several different members of that family. Some were made with feed sacks as that is what they had and some were made by churches and clubs in the community. Women would gather together to stitch and chatter and make something useful for someone in need.

“Behind every quilter is a big pile of fabric.” So true

I was delighted to see on one of the quilts the handiwork of my grandmother Mable. She moved to the community as a young bride and her applique skills were evident. The women embroidered their names on the block that they completed and then all the blocks were sewn together and quilted. This grandmother was well known for her knitting skills. I still have the vests that she knitted for my children when they were young. As a young girl she tried her best to teach me to knit and I did learn the process well. However, I started making a sweater that quickly turned into a dog sweater and then a kitty sweater and then it was never completed. I was a bit of a disappointment to her in that regard.

I have quilts in my home that were made by the hands of my Granny, my dear mother-in-law, a niece and by me. I found when I retired from working that quilting was intriguing to me, unlike the knitting. I have made a king sized quilt for all four of my children and am now working on a quilt for our bed. Some of the quilts at my house are machine quilted and some are tied.

“When you are quilting up a life, you sometimes got to start with any piece you can get your hands on.”

Jonathan Odel

I live in the house that my grandmother, Mable lived in. She and my grandfather had this house moved onto our farm in the 1940’s. I love to think of her sitting in her chair and knitting a sweater or preparing my grandpop a delicious meal of fried chicken. She had a huge garden and raised four children here on this place. It was so sweet to see that block in the quilt she made so many years ago and to think of the very special friends that gathered to chatter and create with their hands.

“Our lives are like quilts – bits and pieces, joy and sorrow, stitched with love.”

Grandparent’s Day

The Farmer and I took a couple of days off from hauling corn to drive 4.5 hours for lunch at school on a Friday. Our two youngest grandchildren were having a grandparent’s for lunch day at their elementary school. We were so thankful to be able to be there. The excitement of the children was contagious and the grandparents were just as excited. Some grandparents brought lunches and others stopped to get meals from fast food places. Many of us though just ate the choices the school lunchroom workers produced. It was a nice meal of cheeseburgers and all the fixings.

Grandpa ate with Luke in the fifth grade and I had the privilege to eat with Addie in the third grade. They ate at different times, of course. We had a nice visit with some of their friends and their grandparents. We were so thankful that we were able to go and enjoy this precious time. Grandpa also got to ride with Jake who is 15 and learning to drive.

“Some of our greatest blessings call us grandma and grandpa.”

After lunch we jumped in the car to drive across the state again, to attend the Friday evening football game of our senior grandson in the western part of the state. This is kind of on our way home. Unfortunately, they lost the game but Asa played a good game.

“Grandparents are there to help the child get into mischief they haven’t thought of yet.”

The following weekend we drove back to the eastern part of the state as the all three of Esther’s boys were running in the Twilight Cross Country meet. Luke in the fifth grade ran in the warmer part of the day. Jake who is 15 ran later in the evening and Judah’s group took the last run. All three did a great job and sister, Addie was happy as she was invited to a birthday party with a friend and got to miss most of it.

“Love is the greatest gift that one generation can leave to another.”

-Richard Garnett

I have to add to this quote that leading your grandchild to have a relationship with Jesus is the greatest gift!

Wow, grand parenting can be exhausting. We remind ourselves though that it’s not very long and they are off to college and adult-ing. We have three in college now and one with a job. We have two that are seniors this year. We are very blessed to have twelve wonderful grands.

Ella, Amish Quilter

I was privileged to meet Ella yesterday on our drive west of Hazleton, Iowa. We went in search of barns that needed their pictures taken. The farmer/windmill man and I love old barns and windmills. When our children were young they helped their dad work on windmills. When we traveled we didn’t play the usual car games like I Spy or Alphabet sign games. We played what kind of windmill was that? Was that windmill a Dempster, Aeromotor, Monitor, or Fairbury or Woodmanse? The children were experts at this game. The windmill man and I still play this game as we travel and we reminisce of times when we had the four children along with us. It’s a lot quieter in the car now. It was our day off as retired folks only have a four day work week with this SOWER group.

Round Brick Barn and Windmill on Amish Farm

As we traveled west of Hazleton, IA we discovered we were in an Amish neighborhood. A community auction was just completed and horses and buggies were everywhere. The farm homes were beautiful and huge! The clothes on the lines were impressive. Some of the clotheslines went to the top of the barns. There were large barns and we even saw a round barn.

We saw farmers mowing hay with horses and several others were cultivating the corn. Children were working in the gardens and helping around the farmstead. Of course an Amish bakery was discovered and rhubarb pie, cinnamon rolls, and jams and jellies were relished. After enjoying some delicacies and getting filled with sugar we headed south.

There is where we saw a sign for “Quilts, Crafts and More”. The farmer was instructed by his bride quickly to turn in. As we pulled into the drive a beautiful lady with gray hair was walking over from the nearby house. Two dogs were in the lead though. As Ella led me into her quilt sanctuary, my breath was taken away by her lovely quilts. Gorgeous colors and perfect stitches. Her machine was a trusty treadle machine. No electricity here to take away the quiet, contemplative nature of the place. Aprons, pot holders, painted saw blades, and other crafts were readily available. Ella and her husband were unable to have children but they have lots of neices and nephews to spoil. Her grandparents were from Yoder, KS. She sends her quilts to Yoder for their big quilt auctions. She would love to visit Yoder some day. It would be a long trip to Kansas by horse and buggy.

I remember my dad talking about the long trip from Quinter to WaKeeney with his grandpa. The trip was made by wagon. Oh the visits they had as they traveled that way. No time for ipods, ipads, video games; only talk. Grandpa’s had lots of stories to tell their grandsons. And grandsons had time to listen.

My short visit with Ella, the quilter made me reflect on the noise of our society. What if we sang our own praises to our God instead of turning on the radio? What if the TV was off and birds could be heard singing? How about shutting off the news in this world gone wrong and enjoying peace? I feel the stress of this world lifting when I still my heart and listen to the still, small voice of my God. Not even the sound of an electric fan or motor but the birds and His creation. I wonder if Ella would let me stay?

Be still and know that I am God!
Psalms 46:10