Sunday, March 13, 2011

March 13,2011

Although there are many behind-the-scenes PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails, I have neglected posting. Writing things such as today I made three phone calls and wrote five emails are less than glamours and not (I'm guessing) any part of what you want to read about here on this page.

As you may or may not know I am currently administering the PA Quilt Trials 2,300 miles southwest from central Pennsylvania in the small border town of Bisbee, Arizona. This is not suggest to that I have lost the passion for Pennsylvania. I lived in central PA for most of my adult life. It is a wonderful place full of beauty and family values that can be enjoyed by its residents and visitors alike. It was just my time to venture a bit out of the fold.

Despite the lack of rain, trees here in southeast Arizona have begun budding, birds and bees are plentiful, and the loveliest warm, breezes mixes with the heat of the sun making for a perfect temperate day.

Pennsylvania is a temperate rain forest. Rain gear is a part of every person's wardrobe. You can wake up with the rain, eat lunch during a rainstorm and at night peel off your wet clothes, drenched as you carried packages from your car to the front door. Believe my frustration with the rain and cloudy days was a major motivator in having me move to a locale with opposite weather conditions.

Unlike Arizona though, you can count on the rain to spur the flowers and plants into action creating an environment of green oxygen producing, air cleaning plants. Pennsylvania in the spring is a miracle to behold. Spring rains brings not only flowers but mushrooms (morals!!!) fungi, moss and grass. Spring rains are cleansing with a smell that is as intoxicating as any flower.

Come to central Pennsylvania this spring and follow the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

March 2, 2011



All through my life, I have found that the unsung "heroes" are an integral part of every experience. As a patient in a hospital, the nurses and tech support people are the unsung heroes, in schools: librarians, aides and maintenance people. For the first "Trail Rug" of the PA Quilt Trails it is our painters.

There's a lot of buzz around the newest addition to the PA Quilt Trails. The Tuscarora site will be host to the first Trail Rug in the entire country. Rug Hookers, often slighted from attention from ever popular needle crafts (crochet, knitting and quilting) will get a visibility long overdue. And in the background and making things happen is a group of painters from the Locust Grove Rehabilitation and Retirement Center in Mifflin, PA.

Under the Direction of Frida Durio, residents are adapting an original Magdalena Briner hook rug pattern to be painted on a large scale. Translating one medium (yarn) to another (latex paint) is a challenge but Frida and the residents have embraced this challenge. By mid summer central Pennsylvania will have another visible testament to the beauty and ability of community projects such as the PA Quilt Trails.