Quilting lesson, part 3

"January 28, 2002:  Received six birthday cards.  Went to a general meeting for all residents in the lobby this evening.  Had dessert and coffee.  Then Delorous U. came here and we played Scrabble.  I'm really rusty -- she beat me three games.
January 29, 2002:  Seven birthday cards came today.  Mary took me for my weekly hair-do.  Tom came about 5:00.  I made creamed dried beef on toast and we played Rummikub.
January 30, 2002:  Had pills delivered from the pharmacy.  Received 17 birthday cards.  An azalea plant from the Winside WELCA was delivered by Mary Ann S.'s brother Bill and his wife who works for the floral shop.  Went to Book Club -- afterward Delorous U. called -- wanted to play Scrabble. She came and this time I won all the games.  We're going to play Cribbage sometime.  Started to snow this p.m."

Until I kept reading/typing, I was going to suggest that if Grandma was rusty at Scrabble she and Tom should have skipped Rummikub and played Scrabble instead.  But, she apparently did just fine the second time with her new and worthy opponent.  It is fun to read her first mentions of some of these ladies that became good friends.

Creamed dried beef on toast!!  Best made with Ray Jacobsen's dried beef to be sure.  But passable even with store-bought.  I should find out if the store where Anna works has locker-made dried beef.

On to the quilting lesson, which is really a speech not a lesson on how to quilt, but you know what I mean.

Quite often quilting bees were held.  The ladies quilted during the day and then after the chores were done the men joined them for supper and then dancing.  Some quilts were named for the square dancing -- Hands Around, Swing in the Center, and Virginia Reel. 

Colonial kitchen quilting frame an article of furniture -- four rings set in the ceiling to raise quilt out of the way -- then lowered to quilt again.  Rooms small. [Looks like Grandma was using a bit of shorthand here, but that is word-for-word what she typed.]

The time the whaling vessels sailed form New England ports was just a short time in our history.  The whaling vessels would be out to sea for weeks at a time. The sailors spent time carving knife handles, kitchen utensils and decorative items  from whalebone.  For the women at home, quilt making was popular and also necessary.  Quilts were needed during the long, cold winters for covers and also as hangings over drafty windows and along a wall where a bed might be.  The wives also made quilts for their sailor husbands.  The men took great pride in their quilts, took good care of them and often took a new quilt on the next trip to show off to the others.  When they stopped at other ports, the men bought cloth for their wives.  This handsome cloth was popular with the women to make clothing for the family and then there were the leftovers to use in their quilts.  Some of these quilts can be seen in museums in Connecticut and other New England states.

Here is a photo of what I think is the Dresden Plate pattern, but I will welcome a correction on that if I am incorrect.  Photo is dated 1991 but there is no indication of who may have gotten this quilt or even if Grandma pieced it.