From the Stacks
By Carol Ann Robb, PPL Reference Librarian
The quilt in the photo was made by my maternal great-great grandmother. I don’t know its exact provenance but have been told the pattern is Grandmother’s Flower Garden. You can’t see the tiny, precise stitches from the photograph but trust me, they are there. And it was quilted before electricity was commonplace in rural Kansas homes so was most likely done by daylight or by the light of a kerosene lantern.
Each year before the Little Balkans quilt show, I put it out to highlight some of the library’s collection of quilt books (and have had hardcore quilters scold me for putting it out and–horror of horrors—let people touch it.) But why hide it? It’s a piece of art that should be shared.
It goes without saying that I did not inherit the genes that produced that quilt. But I certainly enjoy reading novels about quilters and quilting. I can live vicariously through the characters that are much more talented than I could ever dream of being.
Before she turned to a knitting series, Sally Goldenbaum wrote three mysteries centering around quilters in the KC area. Known as the Queen Bee series, the titles include “Murders on Elderberry Road,” “Murder of Taste,” and “Murder on a Starry Night.”
Earlene Fowler also has a quilting-themed mystery series featuring sleuth Benni Harper and each title is the name of a quilt pattern. More well-known is the Elm Creek Quilters series by Jennifer Chiaverini. I was drawn in by the friendship of the quilters in the books, as well as the history woven into many of the storylines.
However, if asked to name my favorite quilters themed book, “The Persian Pickle Club” by Sandra Dallas is my hands-down favorite. I love the Depression-era Kansas setting, the strength of the women in the quilting circle, and the writing. Dallas has written other books with quilting themes—I can attest that “A Quilt for Christmas” is a good read while recuperating from surgery—but “Persian Pickle Club” can’t be beat in my book (pun intended).
The annual Little Balkans Guild Quilt Show is being held in Memorial Auditorium and I urge you to take it in. Seeing all those works of art might inspire you to take up the craft…or maybe just pick up a book. If that’s the case, we can help you out at the library.