Rainy Day Quilting

Rainy days and Thursdays...raindrops keep falling on my head...May showers bring June flowers? I'm so confused. Nature is, too. In this part of Iowa we didn't get much snow this winter or rain in April so nothing really popped into life until this past weekend. Now our grass is turning green, the leaves are appearing on the trees, the flowering trees burst into bloom and the tulips have finally begun to appear from the ground.

Grandma Hilsabeck's Quilt Frame in use again.

Rainy days are good for finishing up those inside projects that didn't happen in the winter. I'm working on a quilt so finally got the batting and backing ready to layer with the top. For more than 25 years I've had my mother's and grandmother's quilting frame in storage. When we lived on the farm it was standing up in the corner of our garage wrapped in plastic bags and tied together with string.

When we moved to Ankeny, I put it in our basement, standing it up in a corner once again. Last week I pulled the four wooden strips down and cleaned them up. They weren't as dirty as I expected, thankfully, but then I didn't remember how they fit together to hold a quilt. What did I do? I performed a search on the web for quilt frames and behold, I got the answers I needed.

I wish I knew the life of the quilt frame. How many quilts has it held taut? How many quilting bees met around the frame and what conversations took place over the the fabric spreads? I feel so blessed to have this treasure, though sadly treated for many years, do you suppose it is happy to be back in use?

The first set of frame pieces appears to have feed sacks nailed to the boards to pin the quilt to. The top strips are carefully hand-covered with a heavy tan drapery-type fabric.

"She makes coverings for her bed," (Proverbs 31:22 NIV).

I'm blessed to place this new creation on the antique framework of my foremothers. Just as the Bible offers the foundation for our faith, the quilt frame provides the structure needed to pin the layers together so the quilt is ready for stitches. I'm nervous about this part because I want it to be smooth and beautiful, warm and cozy, bright and colorful. I want it to be a worthy representation of being made a Proverbs 31 woman.

Stitch by stitch,

Piece by piece,

Love connects.