A sweet treat!!

That's the only way to describe my day yesterday! It was a real treat and no tricks even though Halloween is just around the corner. It all started with a call a few weeks ago, when I was asked if I would volunteer some time to "sit with some antique quilts" that were to be on display at the Stans~Museum in Shakopee, MN. The exhibited quilts were one of the events that would be included in the American~Quilt~Study~Group Seminar that took place in Bloomington, MN this week. All of the quilts are from the collection of Patricia Cox, well known quilter, author, designer, collector/caretaker of antique quilts, etc. It never even occurred to me to say no to this opportunity!!

Here is the Stans House where I spent the day and on the right, you see the smiling faces of the two new friends that I spent the day with .......Gail is seated and Jean is standing. We spent from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. together and never stopped talking. LOL! Yes, I think we are "new friends". Surrounding us as we talked were quilts of all sizes and patterns and fabrics from Pat's collection. We spent the day in the parlor where crazy quilts were on display. In the kitchen there were colorful patchwork quilts. In the dining room, there were many examples of log cabin quilts and other patterns stitched in silk and many with gorgeous stitching on them. When Pat came to pick up her quilts, I asked if I might take her picture and share a quilt or two on my blog. She graciously said "yes".

Be sure to double-click on these photos so you can see some of the details in the quilts. This is not the first time that I've seen Pat's quilts. She lives in the Twin Cities and teaches numerous classes and exhibits her quilts for others to enjoy. And speaking of "enjoy".......well, I thought it was fun to chat with Gail and Jean, and I was thrilled that pictures were allowed. I took a picture of all the quilts on display so I can enjoy seeing them all again (about 30 in the Stans House and another ten or so on display in the Stans Museum). However, the really interesting and enjoyable part came as the quilts had to be packed up. While Pat packed up her silk quilts, Jean and Gail were packing up the red and green quilts you see in the photo below...........

They were all sooooooooo beautiful. I was packing up the smaller ones in the kitchen and then got to help them fold the quilts in this room. A few ladies arrived to see the quilts as we were packing them and Pat began to share histories of the quilts. You had to be there, but it was just awesome to listen to her share the dates and stories of some of these quilts. You can find many of her quilts in various books that she has published. I have her book American Quilt Classics and if I had only been thinking, I would have brought it along and asked her to sign it. Sometimes good ideas just don't come until too late, don't they? Oh, well, I am just glad I got the opportunity to "sit with some antique quilts"!!!!

Oh, but wait............there's more.......because Pat shared more of her quilts and they were on display here............

This is Eagle~Creek~Quilt~Shop and another dozen or more of Pat's quilts were on display inside the shop. This was my favorite vignette. I loved the pink and yellow quilts displayed together and found the yellow one especially charming.

If you are in the Twin Cities area and you are reading this, I am sad to say that the quilt exhibit ended Saturday.

This is also the end of this post. I was going to share the Church supper and bazaar photos from last Saturday but that will have to wait til the next post. I'll include it in my "What's on the line?" post on Monday. I am taking today, Sunday, as a day of rest. My back is giving me some grief and I know that I've been on the road too much, carrying too many things and generally not being good to myself. Going to do that on Sunday.......just rest. Take time for yourself. It's good for the soul. :-) Have a lovely day!
Sandi