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Pre- 1900 crazy qu has initials of quilters An impromptu stop at a yard sale, more than 20 years ago, resulted in Michele Aldridge purchasing a colourful old patchwork quilt. A quilt that now, all these years later, she is researching to find its history. The story begins one day when Michele, who was an activity coordinator for a local retirement home, was out looking for some old tools to use in an activity program she was run- ning at the Port Perry Villa for Father’s Day. Noticing a yard sale at a McDonald Street home, she stopped and began her search. In an old run down barn at the back of the property she came upon a box with fabric sticking out of it. “When I pulled it out there was this old quilt Michele was always on the lookout for interesting items to show the ladies at the retirment home and having worked on quilts in the past the find piqued her interest, so she purchased it. Her mother, Sharon Kimmerly, explained her find was commonly known as a “cr; quilt” because of all the wacky stitchwork and small pieces of fabric. “She told me that all the pieces would have been patches from old dresses, suits and any bits of fabric they had on hand to recycle. She reckoned it was late 1800's because of the old silks and velvets that were sewn into it”. Although she pulled it out occasionally over the past 20 years, the quilt remained stored ina clear blanket bag for years. That was until last September when Joanne Please turn to page 26 FOCUS - DECEMBER 2013 25