Submitted by Dianne McD.
Do you ever get that nagging feeling that you are near something familiar that doesn’t quite fit with your surroundings? That happened to me while we were visiting the Grand Teton National Park last month.
Our sons had won a National Park lottery to hike in the backcountry of the Grand Tetons, and we got to go along as their ground support. Our job was to retrieve Bryce from the Boise airport and Chris from the Jackson Hole airport, get them delivered to the trailhead, pick them up five days later at the other end, and deposit them to the airport to head home a day later. I was thrilled to do it. We got to spend a week in our trailer in my favorite mountain range!
While the guys picked up their permits at the Craig Thomas Visitor Center, I wandered around the building to see what I could see. I was studying the weather board when I got the aforementioned feeling. I turned and saw hanging above the emergency equipment–a quilt! And in the last place I expected to see one.
In 2004, the members of the Jackson Hole Quilt Guild got inspired to make a collage quilt and then donate it to the National Park. What makes this quilt so unique is that 16 different quilters took a pattern section each and completed their block with only size and color as their parameters. The finished quilt is remarkable. I’ve included a photo of the quilt story so you can appreciated the process, too. (You can click on any of these photos for a larger image.)
Later, I saw another quilt hanging in the gift shop that was made from the Riley Blake panel of National Park posters. It was large and very pretty, but I couldn’t get close enough for a photo.
Have you ever been surprised by a quilt in an unusual place? Let us know in the comments below.
PS: The guild has a good Facebook page. Just search for Jackson Hole Quilt Guild from your own Facebook home page. It’s pretty inspiring.
If I recall correctly, the made-up national parks quilt is on a wall at both Aloha Sew & Vac in Hillsboro, and Ace Sew & Vac in Tigard. Thank you for the nice story!
Diane, what a fabulous experience for all of you! The Tetons are so magnificent and emblematic of the National Parks – and that lovely quilted depiction of Park wildlife is also magnificent.
Many years ago while traveling from Montana, my husband and I stopped at a motel just off the freeway in Ritzville, Washington. We checked in and while walking to our room, I finally noticed everything in the motel was decorated with quilt blocks and quilt pictures. Quilt blocks were in the wall paper, all the framed art had a quilt theme, the rooms had quilts draped on the beds and the check in/ breakfast area had hanging quilts. Wow! Who puts quilts on every wall – wallpaper, pictures and hanging quilts? I just checked the motel’s website and all the quilt theme decorations are gone …. some things are only experienced once I guess.