Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - Lancaster, Pa.

I wish I was able to include some photos of the Amish people, the most conservative sect of the Mennonites. We saw many of them driving their horse-drawn carriages around this busy city but they don’t want to be photographed and we honored their wishes. But we did go to several of their quilt shops and drooled over their beautifully handmade quilts. (Well, not really drooled.)  My favorite quilt shops were the ones that were located in a home.

Hand pieced, needle turn appliqued & hand quilted!

Amish farm

One particular quilt shop, Hannah’s Quilt Shop, was located inside her farm home which is self-sufficient without electricity!  The shop was cooled by a floor fan that was powered by gas (probably propane) and a series of belts to turn the blades.

We had an opportunity to talk with an older man, possibly the grandfather, who was snapping green beans on the front porch for dinner. Jim asked him about their cattle, that were grazing in a nearby pasture, and we learned they were dairy cows waiting to be bred. The fields surrounding the house were filled with corn.

I don’t know if the young girl that helped me in the quilt shop was Hannah but she was the person that helped the customers. She explained that the quilts were made in an “assembly line” fashion by several Amish women.  Some of the women cut the fabric and others piece the quilts. Then they go to women who quilt them and finally the quilt is returned to Hannah’s and she stitches the binding onto the quilt. All of this is done by hand except for the binding which is done on a treadle machine. Our visit was certainly a step back in time!