We've made frequent use of the near-by bike trail and are really enjoying the brilliant colors of the approaching fall. We've experienced our first taste of "cold" weather (cloudy, cool rain in the upper 40's) and it was enough to remind us that we don't own very many cold weather clothes!
So the new place is beginning to look and feel like home, except for one thing: The walls of the new condo are all uniformly painted off-white. That's an easy color to decorate with but unadorned they look like the walls of some kind of institution! So, we had to fix that!
We remembered several quilts that had been made for us by special people in our lives but had been in storage for at least 30 years! Why not use them as part of our decorating scheme and cover up portions of those large, off-white walls?
The first that came to mind was this "Flower Garden" pattern quilt. We discovered that it just fits this wall in the study perfectly. A note attached to the quilt said that it was made by my paternal grandmother in the 1940s (which means it is as old as I am!) Grandma Bessie made a quilt for each of her grandchildren. She had seven, of which I was the youngest.
Next , we remembered this beauty, made by Bruce's mother in the 1960s.
It, too, was one of three quilts she made, one for each of her children. It is quite large, but ios the perfect size for this wall in our dining room. Our dear friend -- and expert quilter -- Jane Pronovost encouraged me to use a quilt sleeve to hang it which really enhances its beauty.
The quilt is lovely as a total work of art, but even the details are intricate.
Even the quilting stitches are patterned in a graceful way.
We were so pleased with the results of our "memory hangings" that we quickly hung one more quilt piece.
This quilt, wall hanging, and matching pillows were a retirement gift to us from the Greenville Church of the Brethren where Bruce had served as pastor for twenty years. Each square includes the name -- and creative pattern -- of a family in the church. It is as warm with memories as it is in weight.
So, finally, after many long years in storage, hidden from view, these gorgeous pieces of fabric art can be displayed and appreciated. It's been a lot of work, but we are so glad that we have hung these precious memories.
