Christmastime: A Family Photo, A Holiday Quilt & A Cemetery Visit

With Christmas just around the corner I still have lots to do but I have three photos I wanted to share before the holiday arrives.

This is a c. 1905 photograph of my grandfather, Stanton Bower (upper left), my grandmother, Etta Strubbe Bower (lower left), and my great-aunt, Leila Bower (lower right), taken in the Bronx, NY.

I made North Country in 1993 when I was in my applique-phase of quilt making. The star blocks are from Elly Sienkiewicz's book, "Baltimore Beauties and Beyond."

My "feel-good" thing to do just before Christmas is to go to the cemetery and visit my family's graves. I place a grave blanket between my parents' and my aunt and uncle's gravestones and then put bouquets of greenery in front of all.  

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

__________
Copyright 2013, Barbara Schaffer 

In The Holiday Spirit

This weekend I visited several historic homes that were decorated for the holidays and two of them had quilts on display.

 Row upon row of poinsettias at a local garden center. Aren't they gorgeous?

First stop in the rain: Greenwood Gardens in Short Hills, NJ. The mansion boasts 28 rooms and is situated on 26 acres in the middle of suburbia.

A magnificent hand-wrought-iron gate featuring birds, vines, flora and fauna.

Only three rooms were open to the public. Wallpaper made in Switzerland covered the walls in the hallway and up the stairway. 

The dining room.

Paperwhites on a table in the hallway lent a festive flair.

The Zabriskie House in Wyckoff, NJ, is a beautiful Dutch home built c. 1730.

Love the front door.

A bed with a handwoven coverlet made by David Haring for Ellen Sip in 1832 and a 9-block friendship quilt which bears the name Mary Ann Mowerson. 

This wonderful c. 1860 quilt was hanging downstairs. Signatures include Banta and Zabriskie.

The Force Home in Livingston, NJ, is maintained by the Livingston Historical Society. The small Cook House was moved to this site when the Livingston Mall was about to be built in the late 1960s.  

A portrait of Jonathan Force and a beautifully decorated mantel.

One of the upstairs bedrooms had a Log Cabin cradle quilt with ruffle, a white on white quilt folded on the chair and a woven coverlet.
 

 

This simply decorated tree greeted visitors at today's open house.

Happy shopping, everyone!

__________

Copyright 2013, Barbara Schaffer