What's on the line?

That's the title for a new feature that I am going to add to my blog. Inspiration for this little feature came when I thought about the laundry that I'll be doing today, Monday. Actually, I do laundry whenever it needs to be done, but many years ago Monday was THE day to do the laundry. And when the laundry was done, out it went to be hung on the line. I remember when I was young that there was often a scramble to get the clothes off the line if a sudden rain shower developed. I loved watching sheets blow in the wind and the flapping sound that they made.
Nostalgia is great but I must confess - I don't hang my clothes on the line, because I use my dryer. I could hang them on the line if I actually had a clothesline because we live in a neighborhood where they are allowed (yes, sad to say, there are some communities where you cannot have a clothesline). The line I hang my quilts on for photo-ops is just a clothesline strung between two nicely spaced trees in our backyard. Ever since we moved here, I have had fun hanging quilts and other linens on the line for pictures. With that in mind, I thought.......hmmm, let's do a special feature....post something every Monday.....maybe quilts, quilt tops, vintage linens, anything that would be fun to hang on the line.......yes, I think it's a good idea..........and so here is the first item, a quilt top, that is hanging on the line.

If this quilt top looks familiar to some of you, well, you are right. I took this photo in August of 2008. This one was featured in a blog post here and here but it's a favorite so I'm posting it again. I always thought it was made by my Great Aunt Bell Blair but my mother corrected me......it was made sometime in the late 1920's to early 1930's by Aunt Bell's mother-in-law who was called "Granny Blair".
My mother was raised by my Great Aunt Bell and my Uncle John following the death of her mother. Great Aunt Bell - she always called herself "Ain't Bell" - was more like a grandmother to us. We saw her everyday, for she lived next door to us all the years of our growing up. My mother believes that my Aunt Bell might have ordered pre-cut squares for this quilt-top from the Spiegel catalog. She said she often ordered fabric from the catalog and sometimes special dresses for my mother. They were not wealthy by any means but Aunt Bell doted on my mother. Her own daughter had died in a fire as a small child. Each needed the other.
I've never quilted this top because I love to look on the back and see the hand-stitches of Granny Blair and perhaps Aunt Bell, too. I wonder what they were thinking as they worked on the piecing. Don't you just wish you could know the thoughts of some of the women who stitched those vintage quilts? Ah, yes, the stories they hold are many!
I also wonder what thoughts were on women's minds when they did the laundry, oh, so many years ago. I can remember a little something from my childhood that has to do with laundry....and a wringer washer......and yes, I got my arm caught in the wringer. I can't really remember it, but my mother says it happened. I can see the washing machine, but I don't remember getting my arm caught. I do remember the chickens on the small farmstead where we lived but that's another story. :-)
When I decided to do this little Washday feature on my blog, I googled this question ...... "Is Monday Washday?" Several sites came up but this link -click here - will take you to some memories of Monday Washday that were gathered for a project at UNI (University of Northern Iowa). Enjoy!
I'll be back next Monday with something else "on the line". :-)
In the meantime, I have a busy week ahead.........my "Tuesday Crazies" friends are here for some stitching fun on Tuesday. I'm planning something good for lunch, too. Then on Wednesday, it's off to Firefly*Quilt*Shop for "Wooly Wednesdays". Come Thursday, I'm presenting a program for the Sibley County Extension Banquet. And I get my dinner! I love it when someone else cooks! :-) This lovely spring weather that we are having has just really got me energized! Love it! Have a good Monday everyone!
Sandi

Note: I've added a button that you can copy and post to your blog to remind you to check back on Mondays to see "What's on the line?" :-)