My quilting heritage descends from the Trails End Quilters.  The ladies who lived at Trails End Farm were my ancestors.   My mother and aunt also grew up there.
I’ve been fortunate to have a cooking notebook that my aunt compiled.  In it she includes recipes from her grandmothers, her mother, other relatives, friends and neighbors.  It’s somewhat a cooking history of the ladies associated with Trails End.
 (Incidentally, it was called Trails End because….the farm was at the end of a dirt road or “the trails end.”)
Ah…to have the time to compile these recipes into a family cookbook, with photos and stories …read more

QuiltingAndPatchwork.com
 As I read my grandfather’s writings, Fifty Years Ago, Rural Life from 1876, I was delighted to realize he had included information about his mother’s quilting at Trails End Farm, in Dutchess County, NY.  I know from this that my quilting heritage definitely traced back to my great grandmother, Mary Barker Coon.
 Papa Coon, as our family referred to Burton Barker Coon, writer and farmer, mentioned the women getting together for afternoon tea and cutting out pieces for quilt blocks. 
“They would take their sewing along and have a very pleasant time.  All the girls were brought up to piece quiltsk, bake …read more

   Quilters continue to respond to my posts about quilting, family times, and tea time rituals that bring back memories.  They also share stories of memories-in-progress as they gather with children for cooking, crafts, sewing and quilting, as I did with my grandmother and aunt.  We also created memories in my own home which span the generations. 
Why not start writing down these memories and memories-in-the making?  These are part of your family legacy and should be saved!
If there is interest, I’ll make this a regular feature, where I share quilting memories and tell you about research I’m doing as I develop my Trails End …read more

  Quilters often enjoy tea breaks or a cup of tea while they’re working.  I like to try different types of tea and remember how my grandmother, who taught me to make quilts when I was eight-years old, enjoyed her tea break every afternoon.
Nanny would have her cup of tea while my aunts often sipped their coffee.  When I visited them at Trails End Farm, I looked forward to 3:00 when we stopped quilting, sewing, cooking, cleaning or other tasks and sat at the table with tea, coffee, milk and cookies while we laughed and chatted.
For Christmas this year, my daughter …read more