Ship to Canada
Ship to USA
by Elmer Prather, guest blogger
Elmer Prather is from Canton, GA and he has been writing about his Cobble Hill puzzle experience for several years. Our relationship initially started when he contacted us about a missing piece from his Hot Hot Sauce puzzle. Over the years, our customer with a missing piece became a great friend. He only assembles puzzles that stir up feelings in him from his life experience and then he shares a memory or piece of history with us. It has been a distinct honour having him share his stories, we hope you have enjoyed them all. And he's so clever to have saved this "50 States Quilt Blocks" for his 50th Cobble Hill puzzle! We hope you enjoy seeing it assembled and hearing his thoughts.
This is the 50th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is a 1000-piece puzzle titled “50 States Quilt Blocks”. It displays a quilt square for each of the 50 states in the United States of America.
 |
| 50 State Quilt Blocks 1000pc. Photo & assembly by Elmer Prather. |
The reason I chose this puzzle is because I love quilts. This is the third Cobble Hill quilt puzzle that I have completed. (You can read about Crazy Quilt and Fruit Basket Quilt, here).
As I was putting it together, I wondered if these quilt blocks were official state quilt blocks and if there was such a thing. I found that each state has its own official quilt, much like a state bird or flower designation. The first state quilt blocks came from the Hearth and Home magazine. Their readers throughout the country were asked to contribute cloth quilt blocks to represent their individual states The readers responded to this request and pictures of the selected quilt blocks appeared in monthly issues of the Hearth and Home magazine until the series ended in 1912. In 1912 we did not have 50 states but each of the states in the union at that time had an official quilt thanks to the readers of the Hearth and Home magazine.
I have always loved quilting. When I was in my pre-teens, my mother, grandmother and aunts would get together at our house and make quilts. I guess that would have been a Quilting Bee. There was always plenty of room for all the quilters around the quilting frame, so my mother gave me a needle, thread and a thimble and let me help them sew the quilts. I learned a lot by listening to them tell stories. The stories they told were very interesting to a young boy. I learned a lot about life and people from those women. I would not take anything for the experience.
I have toured the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. It is an art museum that exhibits fiber art and quilting from around the world. The museum is recognized by USA Today as one of the world's top quilt displays. This textile museum supports local and expert quilters by providing workshops and other educational activities.
 |
| 50 States Quilt Blocks by Cobble Hill Creations Available at your local retailer |
P.S. Mr. Prather does have a 48th and 49th puzzle write up that we'll be sharing later this month!