Visiting Jane Stickle's quilt

Wow! I didn't think I could be further impressed by Jane's quilt, but seeing it in person gives me even more appreciation for her handiwork. The intracacies of each block are stunning, and at 145 years old many of the fabrics are still bright and vivid.




It's apparent to me now that Jane must have had a working plan for the quilt. Maybe she started with the center block and worked outwards? Given that many of us who make Baby Janes today use computers, modern techniques and machines to plan and make each block, to have made hers entirely by hand is simply impressive. And how in the world did she get her hands on so many different fabric pieces during the Civil War?

The Bennington Museum displays the quilt around mid-September for one month and this was the last weekend for the 2008 display. The museum has several exhibits including other 19th century quilts, an old Vermont-made automobile, historic local pottery, and a wonderful collection of Grandma Moses paintings (she lived nearby across the New York border).

If you get a chance to go, I recommend visiting Bennington as a gateway into touring Southern and Central Vermont in the fall. In town the foliage wasn't quite peak, but at Woodford State Park where we camped just 10 min up into the Green Mountains, the foliage was a little past peak. Camping was fun, but we nearly froze at night despite the 70 degree daytime highs, prompting us to call it quits one night short and headed home a little early.