A Little Day On The Prarire

Leaving Chicago at 8am was just a bit of a challenge this morning, but the rewards were worth it.

We headed west across the Prarires of Illinois, over the Mississippi River and then on to the prairies of Iowa.
Starting at Stitch ' n Sew in Kalona, Iowa, then venturing next door to Kalona Antiques we finally got some significant retail therapy under our belts.

Such a great store, with masses of great stuff, all at really reasonable prices.

After a fabulous packed lunch from the Kalna Bakery - a traditional-style Amish bakery, it was on to the Kalona Village Museum. This village contains old houses of the area, filled with quilts, old furniture and very interesting things that local families have donated to it.

We had a guided tour of the Amish quilts and then onto the Jacquards Collection. These wonderful coverlets are woven with a wool/linen mix and were made locally in the mid 1800s. 

One of the fascinating things that we learnt about was about Amish Swatches. Because the Amish don't take photographs or paintings, so when there was a special event - a wedding for example, the bride would make a stack of swatches of fabrics left over from her new outfit (black or navy) and and she would stitch a little strip of paper to the top of the swatch and write her name and maybe the event or date on it. Each guest was given one of these swatches, which they collected in a box or basket as a memento of the day or person. Our guide, Marilyn collects these and shared her collection with her. She recently met a 94 year old man and showed him the swatches. He recognised his Mother's name amongst the collection.

Beautiful.

Then a real treat, we wee taken to the inner canctum - the archives. With a total collection of over 750 quilts and Jacquards, a far number need to be stored.

Our visit with Marilyn was done and we were past to Neta for a tour of the remaining buildings.

How lovely it is to see a community preserving its own past.

Mr Wohl's padlock collection. Well some of it anyway.

Just some of his number plates and pumps.

After the museum we toured the Barn Quilts. These are 8' square painted quilt blocks that decorate several hundred barns in Iowa state. 

One of the homes with a barn quilt also had 'stuff' 

A great say!

We're now in Iowa City I. The midst of a thunder storm.