Thanksgiving Day will soon be here and many Americans will gather to enjoy a meal and give thanks for their many blessings.
I find it sad people feel the need to shop on Thanksgiving Day and store owners feel compelled to open their doors to keep up . . .
All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Soul’s Day (Nov. 2) have come and gone leaving the rest of the month of November to continue to remember friends, family and other people important in our lives who no longer walk the earth.
During the Victorian Age . . .
In October Born Again Quilts not only celebrates Halloween we celebrate Adopt-a- Shelter Dog Month too. Once again the members of the Appleseed Quilter’s Guild repurposed discarded fabrics into dog beds. You can take a bed home by giving a free-will . . .
At the Born Again Quilts studio it is always delightful to have groups stop by. Homemaker Clubs, church groups, quilt guilds and sewing circles have all passed through the doors to see the restoration work in progress, to learn how to fold, store and . . .
The 38th Annual MVASGA Show has come and gone leaving behind warm memories of delicious sweet corn, barrel train rides and the quilt show. The quilts this year were a mixture of new and old, machine and hand quilted. The quilt awarded the second place . . .
Ever since I was about nine or ten I can remember going to the Historic South Side Market on Warsaw Street with my parents and siblings. Back then the smell and sight of gladiolas, zinnias, marigolds, tiger lilies along with bustling people as they . . .
Potholders have always been a bazaar favorite of mine. I have one of a sombrero handmade back in the 1940s. When son Robert wanted to learn to quilt, he made an appliquéd alien potholder that still hangs in a place of honor on my refrigerator. These . . .
So often when we try new things whether as an individual or a group, the outcome is a crapshoot. After months of planning, advertising, blood, sweat and tears the big question remains: Will people attend our event and when that event is held in little . . .
Quilters Hall of Famer Mimi Dietrich is one “Hon” of an appliqué quilter!
It was fun meeting Mimi Dietrich and her family at the historic Marie Webster House in Marion, Indiana where she was recently inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame.
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About a month ago Beth Conway contacts me asking if I could meet with her and her father John to help them gain some insight into an antique family quilt. The quilt is a beautiful hand quilted red/white quilt that is one of the most popular two-color . . .
A happy and glorious Independence Day to all!
It hardly seems possible: 39 years have passed since America’s bicentennial celebration. At that time colonial home skills like quilting, candle and soap making came back into vogue. Here in Fort Wayne . . .
It’s been nearly a month since The News Sentinel featured the front page article: ‘Unique’ quilt caused shop owner to pull cover off mystery, revealing ties to News-Sentinel, Hall of Fame. Here’s a synopsis: The article tells the story of a . . .
As the month of June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, it seems fitting to shine the spotlight on the Barn Cat program approved last August and administered by the Allen County SPCA. It is quite clear: not all cats are born for a household environment. . . .
On May 25 the Annual Waynedale Memorial Day parade will wind its way through the streets to the Prairie Grove Cemetery. Once again we will gather to mourn those brave men and women who gave their lives in service to their country. The bell will chime . . .
Forty years! That’s how long it’s been since I graduated in the fourth graduation class of Wayne High School. A recent notice in The Waynedale News alerted me to the class’s upcoming reunion. I have never attended any of them, but . . .
The crack of the bat is in the air and many a mind turns to baseball. Soon the TinCaps will be promoting “Pitch n’ Stitch” and we’ll be in the stands working on our needlework projects hopefully under a warm sun and gentle breeze. . . .
Recently at a Pierceton antique shop I came across two identical satin whole cloth medallion quilts: blue on one side and yellow on the other with a scalloped edge. The tag stated they were silk but my eyes and touch told me they were satin most likely . . .
I confess, I didn’t know much about coverlets except that they are woven on looms so when I was asked to take a couple on consignment, I knew I had my work cut out for me.
After reading basic information online, I decide to contact Walter Font, . . .
Recently I had the good fortune to pick up a four square red and white quilt at a reasonable price at an estate sale. I didn’t examine it very closely for I was sold on it when I saw the brilliant turkey red 8-pointed stars, tiny quilt stitches, . . .
When Country Living Magazine featured a quilt from Born Again Quilts in last November’s issue and referenced BAQ as a good resource for quilts, tops, vintage fabric, etc., little did I know how big of a ripple it would make. For a month or so . . .
Valentines are in the air and talk of love is everywhere! (So much for sappy poetry.)
You can go to any card shop, grocery store or pharmacy and find the usual array of cards for spouses, lovers, kids, teachers, etc., but a valentine for your Alma Mater? . . .
The Astronaut Wives Club: a true story by Lily Koppel is now an ABC ten-part mini-series projected to air this spring. The series like the book chronicles the wives of the Mercury Seven astronauts as their lives are put under the microscope of pubic . . .
Now the winter holidays are behind us and it is time to settle down for some serious quilt restoration work. For as many projects completed this year at Born Again Quilts, there are many yet to complete. The work is steady as long as my calloused fingers . . .
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! This is my last column for 2014 and I find myself in a reflective mood as I recount the many blessings I received over the course of the past twelve months.
One of the biggest joys of quilt restoration work is seeing . . .
As Christmas nears many homes will use a wreath to decorate their front doors.
The history of wreaths goes back to ancient times when Greeks crowned athletes with a laurel wreath and in Rome Julius Caesar wore one befitting his status.
Wreaths, circular . . .
Recently many youngsters and oldsters alike celebrated Halloween by trick-or-treating/trunking and partying. Halloween is an abbreviation of All Hallow’s Evening for the next day, November first, is All Saints Day when hallowed saints, martyrs . . .
Yes, it’s true. Of the 30,397 vintage quilts on Etsy, Country Living Magazine chose five to highlight in an article in their November issue, one is from Born Again Quilts. If you are unfamiliar with the Etsy website (www. . . .
October is “Adopt a Shelter Dog” month and Born Again Quilts is full of dog beds.
Members of the non-profit Appleseed Quilters Guild, (AQG) have created dog beds out of recycled fabrics and are asking people to “name their own price”–just . . .
It has been said that every love story ends in tragedy because at some point one half of a loving couple buries the other.
Such a love story came to an end when my Aunt Dot died suddenly following a brief illness.
Wife to Tom Burtch, mother to six children, . . .
About a month ago my mother calls to tell me she and my brother Bill are coming up from Indianapolis for a visit. We have a nice chat and she also mentions the old garden/tool shed built back in the 1960s was on its last leg and they were having it . . .