The Quilt Show on the Farm 1991

Note:  We hosted a number of shows here at the Windy Knoll on behalf of the then new Geraldine Public Library.  It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever had a part in.  Of course, I loved having the quilts for a few days, but enjoyed seeing and meeting the people, too.  It just got to be too much for the old couple; however, if you are looking for a lucrative fundraiser a quilt show just might be it.

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The house is quiet now, the crowd and overnight-company is gone and I wonder how long it will be before we again return to normal living.

The Quilt Show on the Farm (held on our farm) was wonderfully successful.  John and I, and I’m sure others, are tired but grateful for the opportunity to be able to contribute to such a worthwhile facility as the Geraldine Public Library.

It’s amazing how people from long distances will travel to quilt shows.  We had one couple from California who were driving an RV on the way to somewhere to get on a barge with other RV owners to travel up the Tennessee River. She is a “fabriholic” and saw our flyer in a Boaz fabric shop.

Oneonta, Huntsville, Gadsden, Chattanooga and Atlanta were well represented.  And, of course, many from Geraldine and surrounding area attended.  What a memorable experience it has been for the residents of the Windy Knoll.  Especially Sister (our dog).  She is so glad to again be able to enjoy the quiet and rest in whatever room and spot she chooses.

The weather was not as good as for the 1990 show, but the quality of the show was even better than then.  We were pleased to have the best quilts of the show come from our own state.  The three best quilts, in my opinion, were from Huntsville, Guntersville and Tuscaloosa.  I just stood and stared at the stitches — so meticulously made and the same length on the back and front. They looked machine made.  The Tuscaloosa quilt was made of hand-dyed fabric – shaded to perfection.

Two of the exhibitors have quilts hanging in the permanent collection of the prestigious Museum of the America Quilt Society (called MAQS), located n Paducah, Kentucky – an honor very few quilters can achieve.

One special attraction in this show was 83-year-old Pauline Spieks, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, doing demonstrations on the miniature Grandmother’s Flower Garden and the Cathedral Window.  This is the forth trip Pauline has made to a Geraldine quilt show, and our people love her.  Her work is done to perfection and she has lots of patience to teach others the trade.

We invited people to tour the herb garden and John shared lots of plants from the Tri-foliar Orange bush in our yard.  All in all, the weekend was informative, entertaining ad just good, old-fashioned fellowship for the lovers of quilts, nostalgia, nature and especially country living.