The Country Bride Quilt designed by Rachel T. Pellman and Craig N. Heisey/ made by Patricia Cummings
The quilt that you see above was “two years in the making” as its label states. It is the first large appliqué project and the first completely hand-quilted quilt I ever made! I worked on the appliqué squares while watching the news reports from “Desert Storm.” I was glued to the television for that coverage.
Later, I bought a large quilt frame from Keepsake Quilting and set it up in a then unused room on the second floor (now, my office). The quilt is queen-size, and if I ever set the frame up again, it will be in my yard. In this old house, the rooms are relatively small.
Label that was sewn on the back of the quilt
Even though I didn’t know what I was doing, at the time, I thoroughly enjoyed the project. My mother had just given me a rhinestone setter and I decided to use rhinestones for the birds’ eyes. I like the effect better than embroidered eyes.
This quilt, as you can see, was meant to be a bed quilt and is actually too long to adequately hang in our usual spot for photographing large textiles. The design is from Amish Country. The authors of the book, The Country Bride Quilt, published in 1988 by Good Books in Intercourse, PA, sometimes commission Amish and Mennonite women to stitch their designs.
We visited Intercourse, PA in 1999 on a fabulous road trip that stands out in memory. Included in our agenda wa a trip to the Country Store there run by these same folks. The second floor houses the much-acclaimed People’s Place Quilt Museum. We were able to view some wonderful examples of very early quilts from the “two valleys.” I enjoyed seeing Amish-style hand quilting, up close and personal.
Pennsylvania has been a hot bed for quilts and crafts. Of course, there is the annual crafts fair at Kunztown that attracts countless visitors. Following our trail of thought in yesterday’s blog post about Jonathan Holstein’s “discovery” of Amish quilts as art, I would say that this artistic tradition has been magnified since that time, and that the quilt shown on this page is an example of artistically-inspired work. Don’t you agree?
I live in the city, but will always be a “country girl” at heart, having lived on a farm and loved being in the country. In New Hampshire, country folks are special! I hope you have enjoyed seeing a quilt that I made. No one except a few close friends and family members have ever laid eyes on it … until now. Is it any wonder that John Denver’s song, “Take Me Home Country Roads” is one of my favorites?
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications
Tags: Country Bride Quilt, Craig N. Heisey, Intercourse Pennsylvania, Rachel T. Pellman
