This was sort of a "crafty" weekend for me. I had fun attending a scrapbooking convention Friday in an effort to gain new ideas for my card outreach (I make and donate hand-stamped cards for a local nursing home). Then Saturday I enjoyed a quilt lecture and trunk show which was particularly appealing to me because it focused on the new line of Little House on the Prairie fabrics. I hadn't even known such material existed until my mother and I stumbled upon the sign advertising the event when we happened to visit the hosting fabric store (Jackman's Fabrics) a few weeks ago. I signed-up right away!
I'm a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan and fell in love the books around the time that the TV series premiered in the early 70s. I always loved imagining life on the prairie and got completely lost in the books. Not only did I read the entire series as a little girl, but I have enjoyed many additional books about her life and times as an adult. I also have read those written by her daughter, Rose. Randy and I have visited the museum and historic sites associated with her in Mansfield, MO.
In case you're interested in viewing these new Little House fabrics, you can click on fabric and it will take you to the Andover collections. Scroll down to "Little House on the Prairie" (there are three) and click on those to view the prints. The materials are divided into three collections. Some are replicas of those popular in the Laura's day, while others are replicas of fabrics used to create the quilts appearing in the Little House show. The third category is a grouping of fabrics inspired by the books and series. All are wonderful!
During the lecture I learned that quilting became a more popular hobby thanks to the Little House series. Interestingly enough, during that time there were no quilting stores in the U.S. Quilters used mostly calicos which they obtained at department or fabric stores, but there were no establishments solely dedicated to the art of quilting. Isn't that interesting?
This booklet contains many quilt patterns inspired by the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. Some are blocks actually mentioned in Laura's books, while others are named for events of the times. I flipped through the book before purchasing it with my 15% off coupon and noted that since only straight lines existed in these patterns, they could be doable for me! I am not ready for sewing any curves!
The lecturer, employed by Andover Fabrics, told us that a Little House on the Prairie movie is slated for next year! Bonus! Do you think I may one of the blocks done by then?!