Cleaning Surprises.....

You just never know what will 'turn up' when you clean. I spent a portion of Saturday cleaning my laundry room. I have a bookcase that just fits between the edge of the washer and the sliding door for the water heater. It holds all sorts of things, including stacks of old quilt magazines...really OLD magazines. This particular one is from Jan/Feb of 1992..not so old..*VBS*
I began browsing through it because it features ALASKA quilts. Our friend and fellow passenger Michele, from With Heart and Hands, A Quilting Journey, is on her way to Alaska this week. Her mom is celebrating her 85th(I believe)birthday. I had forgotten what might be in THIS issue, so I looked. And to my surprise look what I found...
Joe Cunningham and Gwen Marston were still together in 1992, and still quilting together. Their column was a regular monthly feature in Lady's Circle Patchwork Quilts. And very good articles they were! I know Tonya of Lazy Gal Quilting is a fan of those old articles also..*S* And then there were the quilts...and to my suprise...an orphan. Hidden right there in plain sight...LOL The maker of this little quilt calls it "Third Generation Pot Luck". Debbie Coate's quilt is made from an assortment of blocks that span 3 generations of her family. She got the idea in a class she took from Judy Hopkins, an Alaskan quilter and teacher.
The little article which accompanies the quilt says, "It was necessary to use leftovers carefully in Alaska....all kinds of leftovers The cupboards in the picture were made by Mrs. Eliza Beth Anderson from old packing crates she saved, while Debbie made her quilt from an assortment of leftover blocks." We, who are taking part in the Orphan block challenge, are carrying the torch forward...continuing the tradition of using the leftovers carefully.