My sweetie needed a mental health day so we had a wonderful ride through CT today. For a woman who is usually on the warm side of life, today I was cold. Shoulda worn that turtle neck this morning. Then I would have been too hot and I’d be moaning about being too warm.
Cathy over at Noble Pig (who is working on starting a winery!!!) has been posting much about Halloween decorations. Nearly every day. The recipes posted above the Halloween decorations have been really interesting. I thought about Cathy as we drove through CT on some back road and we happened upon an outdoor Halloween display that incorporated tomb stones, pumpkins, spiders and so much more Halloween stuff that would tickle Cathy’s fancy. I didn’t get a picture. Cathy if you happen to be driving along Route 2 East in CT, take one of the “by-pass” roads and it will on the corner on the right.
We visited UConn for the Fiber Revolution art exhibit which is in the Art Gallery for one more day. I happen to know Jeri Riggs (she’s a member of Village Squares) and she has a piece in the exhibit that is just beautiful. Tonight as I worked on the photos I noticed a little bird on the quilt that I hadn’t quite noticed this morning. (Pictures tomorrow)
Our next stop was in Hartford, the Wadsword Atheneum had a quilt exhibit running through the end of January. The Atheneum has been continously open since its founding in 1842. The exhibit features a quilt that 
is dated 1785, the oldest known quilt in the states. The quilt was made by Anna Tuells mother. The quilt has some amazing fabrics and beautiful detail. For a quilt that is 223 years old it’s in remarkable condition.
Quilting history is rich and an amazing testament to the work and beauty that women add to life. Quilters now use many of the same quilting patterns and designs that quilters have used over the years. The pattern used here has many names…including broken dishes.
I’m not entirely certain that I would have enjoyed wearing this beauty. Though, depending on the cold I may have. This quilted petticoat has incredible detail in the quilting. Something I would have never known had I not seen this in person. The quilting, particularly on the lower portion is quite detailed and quite dense. As I think about it a petticoat would be great practice for anyone learing the quilting stitch, as much of it would not be seen. Oh we quilters can be so sensitive about our work!
Tomorrow I’ll post a quilted clothing photo from the UConn exhibit…some of the same quilting is used on the pants and jacket. What I particularly like about the pants is that they’re purple! How cool is that?!
The quilts on display at the Atheneum included a Broken Star, Star of Bethlehem, crazy quilts; used chintz, wool, cotton & silk. I took over 50 picturs today. I still have a lot of resizing to do before I can post some of them.
Happy Quilting!
Teri
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