Stitching Our Own Piece of History

Great fun was had this past Saturday at The Buffalo History Museum. Several people joined me for the "Blind Man's Fancy Quilt Block Class" hosted by The Buffalo History Museum.

The Blind Man's Fancy Quilt is just one of the many quilts that were donated to the museum by Julia Boyer Reinstein, a dedicated patron of the museum. The original quilt (circa 1880) is currently on display in the museum's quilt exhibit. The quilt is pieced together with a large assortment of beautiful fabrics. All of the blocks are then surrounded by flying geese sashings, over 480 flying geese! Most all of them stitched together in different fabric combinations. This quilt is surely a potpourri of color, pattern, and happiness. It is one of my favorites in the museum's collection.

Okay, so we got busy Saturday and created our own little bit of history. Some ladies chose the historical reproduction kits, while others selected the Halloween inspired kits. At first glance, the block appears difficult, but by breaking the block down into sections, everyone successfully completed the block by the end of the day. Just as the blocks in the original antique quilt had variations from block to block, our blocks did too! It was interesting to see the effects of turning sections of the block different directions. Each block looked great when completed!

A special "thank you" to the ladies shown here for attending the class and allowing me to photograph them with their completed blocks.