Happy Birthday Mr. Lincoln.....

Today is the birth date of President Abraham Lincoln. When I was a kid, we observed this day in honor of him. Then when February 22nd came around we honored George Washington. Now as most of you know, the celebration of our President's has been combined into one day that is now a National Holiday. Or National Have a Sale day if you are a business owner. Don't get me wrong, I've shopped JoAnn's President's Day sale more than once, but how is it that the day has become so commercialized? Okay, so I'll get off my soapbox and right here and now, I'm not selling a thing and I just want to share a couple of my favorite old quilts. I think most of my close friends would agree that I am not really a "quilter". I mean, I don't make lots of big quilts but I do make quite a few small ones. I make lots of blocks and one day they'll become quilt tops. I have a few finished quilt tops but they await machine quilting and that's not in my budget right now. I think some of those quilts are going to end up being tied so that they can be used. Kind of like the one in this picture.............

I love this old quilt. It was made my Great Aunt Marian. She gave it to my mother several years ago when my mother admired it as it hung on the clothesline. I love the Log Cabin blocks and just the vibrant color of the whole quilt. And instead of the traditional red square in the center, Aunt Marian used green. Wouldn't it be interesting to know why? The quilt is tied and a couple of blocks are really worn but I still love it. There's another simple lavender nine-patch that she made that is also a favorite. My mother and dad had an auction several years ago and she sold the older worn quilts. I jumped at the chance to buy them. I love the untold stories that old quilts hold.


And since it's only two days til Valentines Day, I thought I'd share this old red and white quilt. It was a gift from my friend, Judith. It was one of two quilts that she purchased at a garage sale in Minneapolis. The other one is a pale green and white quilt. Both are very worn but exquisitely hand-quilted. A young woman was selling many of her grandmothers things and these quilts were among them. She hoped that the quilts would go to someone that would appreciate them and my friend, Judith, knew just who that would be - me!! Even though both quilts are extremely worn, you can still see the beautiful hand quilting on each and so they are both still beautiful to me. It's kind of like us. When we're young, our skin glows, we have more energy, and we spend a lot of time making sure we look good. When we get older, our skin shows the wrinkles, energy is harder to come by, we still try to look good and to those who love us........well, we are still beautiful. I think it's time that I shared another poem, one I wrote several years ago.
It's called..............

The Tapestry of Life

When I was young, I learned to sew
and through the years, I grew to know
that love is sewn in all we do . . .
some days are bright, some days are blue.
Yes, our lives are like a tapestry. We know not what the scene will be.
Some days the stitches seem so fine and other days, they all unwind.
But as we stitch, we realize we weave a cloth,
that in God’s eyes is beautiful and true and soft.
And though we see the knots and tears, God sees the work, the love.
He cares.
He looks beyond our faults and knows,
that if not for thorns there would be no rose.

© 1997 - 2009 Sandra E. Andersen

I was inspired to write the poem during some challenging times in my life. It was also a time of blessings as so often happens in life. We had been to England, one of those business trips for my husband and while he worked, I got to go visit museums and such. I always picked places where I could view textiles - clothing, quilts, tapestries. The tapestries really intrigued me for the amount of work in them is incredible and some were very, very old. And yet there they were, still telling a story though they were worn and faded. I thought how much we are like tapestries and then I just wrote what I felt. I hadn't planned for my post to be so sort of "melancholy" but to be honest, I was having a hard time figuring out what to post. Perhaps a little writer's block? My trip to the dentist today didn't seem worthy of a post. I hope you have found this much more interesting.

Sandi