FOLLOW THE STAR JOURNEY WEST

This quilt was made to honor my family's migration from the East coast to Colorado in 1876.  The story ----

My great-great Uncle Asa Haines, as a young man, was involved in a logging accident in Maine and lost a leg.  He was advised to go west, where he could 'ride a horse'.  The local Masonic Lodge gave him $100, and his journey began first on the train.  Further west, he traveled on a stage coach, then on a train again from Denver going south as far as the train went.  From there, he walked on his peg leg 20 miles back east to a job as a sheep herder; eventually homesteading on the southeast Colorado prairies.  His brother, my great grandfather, soon followed after his young wife died leaving him with two young sons to raise.  Those two young boys grew to marry two sisters whose families had immigrated from Germany in the late 19th century.  My maternal family also came to southeast Colorado in the 19th century to establish a farm and ranching home. 

For the last 150 years, my family has continually lived in southern Colorado.  I'm definitely a proud, native Coloradan.

THE STATS:  Follow the Star Journey West, 2026, 30" x 30", Paper Pieced, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

The colors for the quilt were chosen to signify the beauty of the prairies of Southeast Colorado.

CENTENNIAL STATE

This quilt was designed and made for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of Colorado admitted as the 38th state of the United States on August 1, 1876 by President Ulysses S. Grant.  Its entry followed a long, 15-year journey from its creation as a territory in 1861.

 The colors for this quilt were borrowed from the Colorado state flag that was designed by Andrew Carlisle Carson in 1911 and adopted by the General Assembly with revisions in 1928 and 1964.

The blue represent the blue skies of the region; the white symbolizes the snow-capped mountains and the silver mines; the red represents the Spanish meaning of Colorado (red earth); and the gold symbolizes the year-round sunshine and the gold mining industry.

THE STATS:  CENTENNIAL STATE, 2026, 29"X29", Paper Pieced, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted.  Nerd number report --640 pieces.

PHOBIA

 I've always had a phobia of buying small pre-cut fabrics, because of another phobia.  I'm an old-school diehard when it comes to pre-washing my fabric before construction.  I knew that prewashing 5-inch squares would be time consuming and tedious.  However, I wanted to experiment using some Kaffe Fassett fabrics, but didn't want to buy a variety of fat-quarters or yardage.  So, I bought 5-inch precuts of his fabric.  And, yes, I prewashed all 35 little squares!!!

THE STATS:  Phobia, 2026, 26"x34", Paper Pieced, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

This quick project convinced me that I should stay with my usual choice of fabrics.

A STAR IN THE DARKNESS -- MLK DAY

"DEMOCRACY MATTERS" SERIES #1

I started thinking about this quilt on Martin Luther King Day (2026) while listening to Dr. King's final speech.  His famous statement, "Only in the darkness, can you see the stars."  was all I needed for inspiration to continue working on the design. This is the result.

STATS:  A Star in the Darkness, 2026, 29" x 29", Paper Pieced, Machine Pieced, Machine Quilted

The pictures were taken at the stone arch at the base of Skyline Drive in Canon City.  It was constructed in 1932 by inmate labor.  It was built with stones sent by governors from all 48 states at that time in the U. S.  I thought that it would be appropriate for the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.