What's on the line?

This is my quilt called "Brick and Tile". I made the top in 2005 and I finally had it machine quilte by Anne Tuma last winter. After church yesterday, I took the quilt out to the line for a picture. It was windy. I knew it could be difficult to get a good picture. I was right. It was so windy about noon yesterday, that it snapped the clothespins right off the line so I thought I'd try later in the day. Well, the wind had died down by about 4:00 p.m. but then there was too much sun!! And that meant a big shadow of the tree nearby cast itself upon my quilt!

So, I thought........hmmmm...........I'll just hang the quilt on the other side and take my photo toward the house. The first picture was okay but seemed a little dark..........

so I thought I'd take another one, and then guess what? The wind came up again............

and I mean, it really was blowing..............

so while these pictures aren't the best, it's the best I could do on another windy day here in Minnesota!

There's a story behind this quilt...........

My friends, Sandie and Gretchen were hosting a retreat and asked me to design an easy quilt project that guests could make in a weekend. I had a couple old quilts that belonged to my Great Aunt Marian that provided inspiration. I thought about those quilts because my mother had seen them "on the line" at Marian's one day and she said they were old and was going to get rid of them. My mom was interested in them, so Marian gave them to my mom. And then I bought them when my folks had an auction when they went from their acreage to an apartment. I thought of those quilts and of Lehigh, the little town in Iowa where I grew up. The hills of Lehigh were filled with clay and the company that anchored the town was Lehigh Brick and Tile. I wanted the quilt to be a comfy lap quilt, one that would remind me of growing up in such a wonderful little town. And so............the larger square blocks are the "tiles". The "bricks" are the rectangular blocks. The smaller squares are a reminder of the trees that are found in all corners of the scenic Des Moines River Valley in Lehigh.
I spent four days in Lehigh last week and enjoyed every minute of it. The town is like so many small towns in America......empty buildings as businesses closed when shopping centers and big box stores became the place to shop instead of Main Street U.S.A. but I still see Lehigh through the eyes of the girl who left there in 1967. It was a great place to grow up. I loved Saturday nights on Main Street, a visit to the library, a bag of popcorn from the popcorn stand on the corner near the bridge, visiting with friends, all the things that make a small town so fine. Many friends and family still live in Lehigh. But many are gone, too. I'm just glad I grew up there and that I can visit from time to time. One of my favorite things to do when I visit my mom is to take a drive around Lehigh and to the little towns nearby. Much of the corn has been harvested and farmers have let the cattle out in the fields to graze on the remaining corn. These cows were laying down when I stepped up to the fence to take their picture, but then rose as if to say..........Glad to see you!!!!!!!

And I was glad to be there. More pictures of my visit to Lehigh later on this week. You all have a great Monday and an awesome start to this week!
Sandi