This is probably my favorite of all quilts in my collection. It was a wedding gift to Steve and I 20 years ago from his childhood baby sitter, Tressie Garner. Tressie was a widow with no children of her own when she started watching Steve and his brother Paul back in the late 60s when they moved from Saginaw to the farm in Mayville. By the time we were married in 1989 she was in her 90s but still mentally quick and as spirited as ever. We aren’t sure about the real story behind this quilt. I don’t know if it is something she made or something she bought along the way. We are pretty sure it wasn’t purchased specifically for us and is definitely an antique made with real vintage fabrics. It was most assuredly hand pieced and hand quilted. The details and precision are amazing. I believe the pattern is called Around the World and each piece is only 2 inches square.

The sawtooth binding edge is meticulous.

I used to use this as a quilt on our bed and also on the guest room bed. I also used it as a wall quilt above our bed briefly at our vacation house. Now I try to keep it in storage so the delicate fabrics and colors don’t fade and wear and more. But it is too pretty to keep hidden away so I pull it out every winter to bring some much needed color and freshness to our long bleak winters here in the midwest. It is the one thing in my house that none of the animals are EVER allowed on! (But I do have a picture in my wedding album of our old cat Penelope resting on it and my wedding dress at my Mom’s while we were on our honeymoon.)

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