John & Ruth's Wedding Quilt

The quilt made for John & Ruth's wedding in 1985.

The light yellow center blocks were embroidered by family members on each side of the couple's family.  This must have been a real effort on everyone's part because this couple did not have such a long engagement and the quilt was all ready by the wedding date.

the top picture is how I placed the completed blocks to decide what order they should be in.

Second picture is the quilting process after the orange strips were sewn into place, the orange backing and filling were secured on the frame before the top was placed on the frame.  My youngest son, Andrew is supervising the work that I am doing.

 Pictures three & four show the finished product.  I haven't figured out how to turn them the right way.

Grandma's Quilts

Grandma Ferris made this quilt for me when I was a teenager. It is a scrap quilt made in the design of the Jacob's Ladder (I think), it is set together with white blocks, backed with white cotton and bound with a dark green print. She had it machine quilted by someone else. It is a double bed size but I have displayed it here on a single bed.

The close-up shows the design in more detail.













The Double Wedding Ring quilt was pieced by hand by Grandma F. and given to Helmut and Me as a wedding gift in 1968. The rings are made of very small scraps hand sewn together and set in white with light green and pink 4 square blocks at each intersection. It is hand quilted I believe by Grandma. It has a scalloped edge with hand sewn pink binding and a white cotton backing. It is a large double bed size and even fits our queen size fairly well.

I treasure both of these tokens of my Grandma's art form. Both have been used considerably as that is what she made them for.

My Quilting History

My dear Grandma Ferris initiated my interest in quilt making when i was probably in my early teens by giving me some quilt blocks that were already cut out for me to hand sew together.

When my sister was planning to get married I decided to make her a "Family" quilt which I took the idea from a "Friend" quilt that our church ladies group made for a missionary.

This two tone blue quilt is the "Family" quilt made for John & Pat Van Essen in 1971 for the occasion of their wedding. Each light blue block has an embroidery design contributed by Mothers, Sisters and Sister-in-laws, Aunts and perhaps Cousins from both sides of the new family. The backing is a blue print with some beige and white in it. Grandma F. wasn't so thrilled with my idea of a print on the back as she traditionally used white on the back.

Grandma F. was not very well just prior to Pat & John's wedding but she was able to attend and looked very lovely for the occasion.










The Bow Tie Crib quilt I made up of the blocks that Grandma F. originally started me with plus more that I had to contribute to make it up to the right size. I had this quilt finished in time for Mark's first birthday in Apr. 1976. It is backed with a pale green printed flannelet.

Remember click on picture to enlarge it. Sorry the pictures of the Bow Tie are not so sharp and have light specks on them.

Views of the Haifa Harbour with cranes for lifting containers.





Haifa is a modern city and on the side of this mountain is the property of the Bahia Temple with beautiful gardens.





Overlooking Haifa and the sea from the upper road on the mountain.

Some of the blooming bushes along the coastal highway from Caesarea by the Sea going towards Haifa.




The old aqueduct to carry water from Mt. Carmel to Caesarea.

The Ceasarea gift shop is out of order but it was the last place we visited in Caesarea and it housed the "Gladder Bladder" facility.

Over looking the Mediterranean Sea near Haifa.

IV Instalment - Day 2 - Caesaria by the Sea

First place of interest on Day 2.

Caesarea by the Sea

The surrounding wall.

Herod's fresh water swimming pool.

The amphitheater - our group went down to the stage and sang a hymn or two.

Columns from the palace and other artifacts.

Special side rooms along the race track.

I think this building at the end was where the prison had stood in the time of Paul.

A gate house with a high window where a soldier could stand and watch or shot through the little gap. "Standing in the gap".

The aqua duct from way up north to Caesarea.