I am a little behind on this quiltalong having been away but catching up as quickly as I can. When I got back today I got out my cutter and got to it and ended up with this little pile of triangles:
I now need to cut my white solid (well, I need to go buy some first!) and play around on my design wall/bed/floor to get it working and flowing. Then its time to crank up the machine for
some chain piecing and hopefully by next week I'll have caught up with the group!
The surprise of the week was our visit to Johnstown Castle in Co. Wexford which is home to an Agricultural Museum and Famine Exhibition. I was not terribly excited about going to this museum but thought it might be fun for the kids. Much to my total surprise, it was really really interesting and we all really enjoyed it - the kids adored the old farm equipment! A lot of the exhibitions were social history centred and there was a lovely exhibit of old country furniture upstairs - including some replica quilts. But the star of the show for me was this unfinished Famine Quilt which was part of the Famine Exhibition.
Isn't it amazing? Its paper pieced and as you can see, the newspapers date back to 1847.
I can't believe the tiny stitches, the tiny hexagons, and how much time and work this must have taken! I also just love the colours and how this pattern was put together. And all by hand...
It was made by a lady called Mary Stedmond who lived in Co. Wexford and its quite amazing to think that something this beautiful came out of such a terrible period in Irish history. Seeing as how I was blown away by it, I thought some of you might be interested to see it!
