WINTERTIME LOWS MEET SUMMERTIME HIGHS – Around The Frame

The holidays are over, and we’re in the wintertime stretch to spring. January invokes low energy, gloomy cloudy days, and the bone chilling winds that greet me as I walk to work, when all I want to do is curl up and take a nap. It’s that time to get prepared for my tax accountant to give me the answer to the age-old question: do I get, or do I owe?

Wintertime has one good thing going for it: It’s a great time to hand quilt large quilts. I sit up in bed with 8-10 needles threaded at the ready and a quilt block tight in the hand-held frame. Every stitch gets me closer to finishing another vintage quilt.

This wintertime I have something to look forward to, which will better help me tolerate it because I intend to have a lot of fun this summer. I’m sure some of you, like me, were shocked and disappointed to hear that, after being family owned for over 90 years, Indiana Beach was put up for sale by its current owners and was on the brink of being dismantled. I spent many summers at Indiana Beach and have fond memories of introducing my son Robert to his first major roller coaster there. After our first visit, we made it an annual trek. Now, thanks to entrepreneur and amusement park enthusiast Gene Staples he purchased Indiana Beach and reopened it last summer. I didn’t make it back, but was determined to go back this summer.

With any luck Robert, his new bride Kimberly and the girls can come out to Hoosierland so they can experience it all too!

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Now I’m a thrifter and am always on the hunt for “The Find”. I recently had one of those moments when I walked into a store and found a 40-year-old Raggedy Ann and Andy bed quilt featuring an amusement park design. There they are: at the kissing booth, eating ice cream cones, being spun around, Andy winning a prize for Ann etc. I whipped it out of the store and couldn’t wait to savor it in all it’s glory. The best part of the quilt is the bottom border depicts the entire amusement park from the roller coaster to the Merry-go-round to the airplane ride, log ride, ticket booth – you name it!

So now, while quilting away on dreary days, I look at my amusement park quilt and fondly remember the good times. I can’t wait for sunnier days to experience the roller coaster highs and lows at this vintage amusement park with my new family members!

Lois Levihn is the owner of Born Again Quilts. Do you have a textile story you would like to share? Contact her at 260-515-9446 or bornagainquilts@frontier.com