Meet the Squares: The Heirloom Quilt Square

The Heirloom quilt square has now been installed and can be enjoyed in Mifflintown, PA. This quilt square has taken the longest time, from start to finish, of any square, yet the wait was well worth the time.

At least a year and a half ago, Community Partnerships RC&D was asked by the Juniata Valley Quilters Guild, to give a presentation to the group about the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails. A short while after the presentation, the guild contacted CPRC&D and generously offered to sponsor two pieces, one to be placed in Juniata County and the second in Mifflin County.

The Skills Group were kind enough to volunteer their time and talents to paint the design submitted by the Quilter's guild. After diligent priming, taping and painting for weeks of time, the piece was completed and transported by Kevin Morgan and Mike Lennartz of CPRC&D to Heirloom Cabinetry, where the piece could be touched-up and framed for installation.

The folks at Heirloom managed to hoist this incredibly heavy the piece feet off the ground, to its current home where it overlooks  beautiful valleys and hills of Mifflintown.

The Heirloom Piece, with its strong colors and design, compliments the  beautiful farm land and countryside where she/he will stay for many years to come. Take a lovely drive and come see. Heirloom Cabinetry is on Nelson Road, just a few miles off of the main route 322.

Please support the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails. All donation large or small are appreciated. Click on the Paypal button to the top right of this blog and follow several prompts and your money will be immediately sent to CPRC&D to continue work on this great community project.
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Meet the Squares: The Tuscarora Trail Rug

There are  many components of the Tuscarora Trail Rug that makes this a special piece. First and foremost its location.Spanning across Cumberland, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Mifflin, and Perry counties, the Tuscarora State forest is  95,780 acres of beautiful forested wilderness. Visitors to the Tuscarora Forest will have the opportunity to commune with nature no mater what time of year visited. Winter provides a plethora of cold weather activities whether you have a passion for x-country skiing, snow shoeing or a cold weather walk in the woods. Springtime abounds with wildflowers such as the Trillion, Skunk Cabbage, Lady's Slipper and flowering Mountain Laurel. Additionally the woods abound with  special treats such as: ginseng and morels. Summer brings more and more flowers and birds and of course fall has a spectacular display of color from changing leaves.

The PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails piece that is installed at the Tuscarora Ranger Station's fire building is a design adapted by the Locust Grove Retirement and Rehabilitation Village. Residents worked hard to design a piece that followed the original inspiration which was a hooked rug done in the 1800s by artisan Magdalean Briner Eby.

Magdalean Briner Eby lived in the area that is now the Tuscarora State Forest. She created whimsical forest scenes into hooked rugs. Her work is highly collectible today and she is considered one of the quintessential hooked rug masters of primitive American folk art.

There were many people that made the Tuscarora State Forest Trail Rug a reality. Stackpole Books, Kathy Wright, Rug Hooking Magazine, Deb Smith, Penn Dot, Department of Forestry, Community Partnerships RC&D, Locust Grove Village, family members of Magdalean Briner Eby and last by not least Gene Odata, District Forester at PA DCNR.

Meet the Squares: Sewing Shanty

One of the most touching back stories of a PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails quilt square was the Sewing Shanty quilt square created by Debra Andretta and Mark Paul Brong in honor of their father, who passed just a few months earlier. Wanting to honor their dad and his love of wood working, Debra, a talented quilter, created the "rough" draft by using fabric pieces to represent a variety of wood colors and textures. Mark then took Debra's template, adapting cloth to pieces of local wood and fabricated  a beautiful multi-textural inlay wood square. The quilt pattern initiated in fabric by Debra is called the "Sawtooth Square".

Although the Sewing Shanty has since closed, the piece has been relocated to the Daily Grind on route 45 in Vicksburg. This is a unique, beautiful part of the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails that should not be missed. Take a drive through rolling hills and farmlands to Vicksburg, enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and see the intricate handiwork that honors another one of central Pennsylvania's artisans.

Meet the Quilt Squares: Hunters Valley Winery

Many people living in central Pennsylvania have kept much of the "old school" way of doing things. Tapping maple trees at the end of the winter, cooking down apples for apple butter and harvesting home grown veggies and fruits to "put up" are more common than not. Spend some time outside of the enclave of central Pennsylvania and you will realize how far many people have grown from hands-on living.

The first quilt square of the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails is installed at a place where wine is grown, harvested, fermented, bottled and sold. The entire process is done by hand. During the few months I spent at Hunters Valley Winery in Liverpool working on their quilt square,  I was privy to  part of the process. On one visit Bill, Shirley and a friend from the neighborhood, were pouring grape juice into wooden vats to be compressed. On another visit, Darlene, Shirley and Bill were inside hand bottling their delicious wines. Even the installation of the Hunters Valley Winery quilt square was a hands-on process for Bill and the two local Mennonite carpenters.

In this time of technological-driven procedures and processes, it is delightful to be exposed to hands-on industries. Take the time and head to Liverpool, photograph you and your friends/family/loved ones in front of  Pennsylvania's first quilt square and enjoy the beautiful setting of Hunters Valley Winery. Don't forget to bring home a bottle of some truly yummy local wine. Enjoy

Two broken legs

I, like most people in these hard economic times, have multiple, part-time jobs. Graduating college is no longer a guarantee of full-time well-paying employment. One of my jobs is working at a writing center at a junior college. Helping students with their papers and ultimately helping them pass classes that will lead to graduation, is rewarding (though not financially) work. Twice a week I work with a 72 year old gentleman who has enrolled in school to learn how to read, write and gain computer skills. He is very much a presence at the writing center and has become part of the "family". Two weeks ago he stopped coming to the center. After the first missed day I began my search for him, asking around for sightings, phoning his house and even driving to his house a few times to see if I could catch a glimpse of him sitting on his porch. Two days ago I found out that he had been hit by a car and was now in a nursing home with two broken legs and numerous other injuries.

I visited my gentleman friend and told him how much he was missed and how I had been looking for him for the previous two weeks. We talked briefly and I asked if he had any needs that I could take care of for him. As I parted he left me with this thought, "Life can change in an instant. One minute you are crossing the street to go get your morning cup of coffee and then next you are in an ambulance heading for the hospital."

The PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails will most likely be around long after we all are gone. However, now is the time to visit and support it. There may not be an opportunity tomorrow. Take your family and follow the trail.  Visit the Hunters Valley Winery quilt square on a date. Show your kids the world's first Trail Rug at the Tuscarora forest. Support is easy by using the Paypal button at the top right of this page. Take advantage of what you have today.

Late Winter Snow

There are three types of snow days that tickle one's senses: the first snow of the season, the first huge snowfall and a late winter snow. The first two types need little explanation. The first snowfall is delightful. Kids and adults alike can be found outdoors, catching snowflakes on their tongues, cleaning up skis in preparation for winter skiing and digging out all the warm and comfortable sweaters, scarves, hats and mittens, lovingly stowed away since  past spring.

The first large snowfall of the year is, for many, an unofficial holiday. Many school and businesses are closed. Often people stay in bed a bit longer, warm and snuggled amongst the winter comforters and wool blankets. Woodstoves are ablaze, filling the air with curls of smoke and the fragrant scent of wood burning.

However, and many will disagree with this statement, one of the best snows are the late winter snows. Because they are so late in the season, shoveling does not need to be as precise, most likely in a day or two the sun will shine and melt most of the snow anyway. Ofttimes, this will be one of the last snows of the year, so the chances for x-country skiing are few until the next winter. Many of the birds have returned. If you are fortunate enough to take a walk in the woods during or immediately after the late winter snow, you will be blessed with a forest full of bird chattering, cold, fresh air bracing your nose and cheeks and the feeling of being truly alive.

Central Pennsylvania has its beauty in all seasons, but its beauty in winter may be vastly under appreciated. This year make an effort to follow the PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails during the last few weeks of winter. Enjoy the beauty that is free and yours for experiencing.

Support PA Quilt (and Rug) Trails today!!!!!!

The unofficial state bird of Pennsylvania

If you were to name which non-native bird, living in Pennsylvania, represented best rural Pennsylvania, you most likely would name the domestic chicken. In most neighborhood, the sunrise is meet with the crowing of a rooster. Drive down many rural lanes and you will be greeted by a flock of chicken scavenging for bugs on the side of the road.

When my daughter was young, her best friend was a Rhode Island Red, named Bellina. Bellina willingly let Meagan push her in a stroller around the yard often with a small blanket if the day had a bit of a chill about it. Besides Bellina there were four other chickens, all named specific for their humanistic attributes (Zena, Gabriel, David Bowie, and Esmeralda). Many of my neighbors also kept chicken and town wide potlucks always had plenty of egg dishes options.

Central Pennsylvania's love affair with chickens goes way, way back. Today much of the nations' poultry comes from central Pennsylvania, Amish and Mennonite farms throughout the region raise chickens as well as many residents whether as a home hobby or a project of FFA or 4H