The Rotary

I hadn't been to the quilt show at the Paducah Rotary Club for quite awhile. They usually have The Hoffman Challenge and an antique quilt show going on (along with several vendors) during the same days as the big AQS show in Paducah. I figured it was time I checked it out again this year.

I must say, I'm ALWAYS amazed when I see the antique quilts. How those tiny pieces ever came together to make those wonderous pieces of textile bliss I will NEVER know. To think that they were made without the use of acrylic rulers and rotary cutters is even more amazing. I remember my grandmother cutting out quilt pieces using scissors and templates cut from brown paper bags. In my mind's eye, I can still see her holding the paper template against the little piece of fabric (with just her fingers--no pins) and cutting the piece out with her scissors. Amazingly enough, the vast majority of her quilts ended up flat!

I didn't take lots of pictures at the rotary; but since I'm currently enamored with hexagons, I DID take a picture of my favorite antique quilt at the show. (Evidently, I'm not the only one enamored with hexies. The winning "1st Place, Bed Quilts - 1st Entry in a Paducah Contest" sponsored by Statler Stitcher at the AQS show is a quilt with hexagons. "Perseverance," contains 10,509 half-inch hexagons! Here is the antique hexie quilt I found at the rotary show. It was labeled, "Mosaic Quilt...made approximately 95 years ago with a very deep scrap bag of fabrics covering a 20-year period." As it is with many quilts of this time period--the 1920s, the quiltmaker is unknown. It is hand pieced and hand quilted and measures 62" X 80". There are over 8,000 hexagons in this quilt (back when there were NO pre-made templates).

This is the full-on view of the quilt. Sorry this is a bit blurry. I had to get into a vendor's booth and QUICKLY shoot the picture between shoppers. The next two are a bit better.

There are a WHOLE lot of little hexagons in this quilt!

I have some pictures from the "main" show to share with you later this week. Check back.

 

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