Alabama adventure

We saw an amazing quilt over the weekend in the Alabama History Museum.  It was folded up and tucked into the back of a display on everyday life in "the olden days."  I was blown away by the quilting.  The above is a photo of a copy of the quilt.  Most of the clamshells in the original were worn, and because it was folded I didn't see the outer borders.  I looked in the gift shop for a pattern or postcard, but the volunteer there told me that none exist so far.  She did say that a woman had made a smaller copy of the original and also that the original will be in a special exhibit in the coming year at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.  I love the combination of blue and brown the quilter used, and those clamshells are really something.


We arrived in Montgomery Friday evening, after stops in Wilkes-Barre, PA; Roanoke, VA; and Kennesaw, GA.  The first three days were just driving and I was reminded how big our country really is.   Friday morning we visited a Civil War museum and also a battlefield in Kennesaw.  Both were fascinating, but it is sobering how brutal war is.  On Saturday, in Montgomery, Paul's brother Jim took us to the history museum in the morning, a fried green tomato buffet (yum) for lunch, and then the museum of fine arts.  It was a lovely day. 


We left Montgomery yesterday morning for Fairhope, a small town on the east side of Mobile Bay.  Our apartment is small and efficient, and we can walk everywhere.  It's so nice not to need a jacket!  Bulbs are blooming!  And we're reminded that it has been below zero back home.  It's raining and quite windy this afternoon, so I'm going back to reading and will try to do a few more rounds on the sock I'm knitting.