Submitted by
Mariwyn McClain Smith
Mariwyn McClain Smith
Autumn is here. Leaves are proudly showing their colors that no artist can create.
Schools have re-opened, parents are looking over clothes that are surprisingly smaller than this year’s.
Will we need more bed clothes? How about a blanket that brightens the room, a warm snuggly one that is a work of art; one made as no other anywhere. It can be dark colors or pastels, a few colors or many, a simple pattern or complex.
You may be lucky enough to find one made decades ago, or maybe one created or won at a fair or festival.
Did you know that local residents made woolen blankets for soldiers during WWII at Dorman Woolen Mill in Parsons? A close look will find you, in the back of your closet a man’s Dorman wool plaid shirt that was too worn to wear any longer, but the back is the perfect size for quilt pieces.
Each year the Friends of Cortland Acres raffle off a donated quilt and raise over thousands of dollars on these quilts.
This year’s quilt is a King-size original pattern, predominantly black with bright colors of contrasting pastel colors. The outside border displays large life-sized sunflowers.
The quilting shows the outstanding work of Mary Jane Smith, the founder and director of Camp Horseshoe’s twice annual Quilt Retreats that draw as many as 60 at a time from various states.
Tickets can be purchased at Cortland Acres at the Gift Shop or from the Activities Department.
The quilt also known as “My Sunday Best” was designed and pieced by Mariwyn Smith remembering childhood Sundays and quilts and clothing made by her mother, the late Faith McClain of Parsons.
