20
I sometimes say “I’ve only stolen one quilt, and this is it!”
1998
In 1998 while teaching at the Maria Peters Quilt Days in Winchester, England, this quilt, "Anasasi Enigma" by Liz Heywood, had won Best of Show. I was living in St. Louis at the time, but something about the Southwestern imagery really captivated me. I was just at the beginning of trying to collect a few quilts and asked Liz if she sold her work and was this quilt for sale. She discussed it with her husband and the following day they offered me the quilt. She told me it would be 200. After a slight pause she said, “Now that’s British pounds.” I tried to keep my cool because I couldn’t believe I could actually acquire this quilt for $350. I told Liz I would treasure it forever and to this day it remains one of my favorites of all time. I love it so much.
2017
For nineteen years I never heard from Liz and really didn’t have a contact for her. I recently went back to Hampshire to participate in a quilt festival in Romsey, England. Knowing I would once again be so close to where Liz might be, I decided to take the quilt back to England with me in hopes that I might be able to reconnect with Liz and allow her to see her quilt once again. It would be like an old friend coming home. Indeed I was able to meet with Liz and she was so surprised that I brought the quilt with me.
Notice the amazing detail of super tiny prairie points, machine quilting with no obvious starts and stops, and the hand “seed stitching”.
Now that I live in the the great Southwest this quilt is even more cherished by me.