Twin Tulips from CCCQ Revisited

This week's block is Number 14, Twin Tulips made by Mary Wilson.

Mary Wilson was one of Jane Wilson's daughters and was 16 when she made her block.  This block is part of The Second Year of patterns; next week's block will be one of The Third Year patterns. 

I've decided to discount the featured block pattern each week.  If you go to the website you will find Block 14 at a special price for the week.


You will find photos of this block pinned to the Chester Criswell Quilt Pinterest board.
If you would like to share a photo of your Block 14, old or new, you can post it to the Two Bits Patches Facebook page.

The original blog posts are here:

Block 14 Mary Wilson
Photos of finished blocks


How are your New Year's resolutions going?  I like to pick a word for the year but I'm easy on myself.  Many people choose to better themselves by dieting or finishing UFOs or being more of anything.  I'm accepting of myself - I know there is plenty of room for improvement but I would rather enjoy what I am rather than working at being something I'm not.  So my word(s) for 2016 are ...

Almost Christmas

Isn't it good when you get a chance to work on an idea that has been buzzing around in your brain.  

Summer Tulips

I have been wanting to make some six inch blocks based on the Chester Criswell patterns.  This is the first one.  I've used the small flower pattern from Block 14 and added some cheddar too.  I like the colours but I like just red and white too.  I'm not sure which colour scheme to continue with for the next blocks.

It's three sleeps until Christmas and I am looking forward to Christmas afternoon.  After church we will be driving to our Christmas rendezvous. No cooking for me, hooray!  We have three grandchildren and one more on the way so Christmas is a great time to be with family.  

Hope your holiday plans are just what you ordered.  See you in the New Year.

Photos of Mary Wilson's Block 14

Have you finished Block #14?  If you have we would all like some show and tell.

Block 14 Mary Wilson

I was working on this block while DH and I were away on a short holiday break.  Whenever I see it I think of the beach we walked along and the lovely bed and breakfast accommodation (complete with sauna and massage).  This block makes me smile.

Do you make associations with quilts you are working on?  I know a lot of women take hand sewing along while waiting for children's swimming lessons or sporting activities; some women are sewing in hospitals or sickrooms.  How does the context of your stitching make you feel about your finished project?

If you have posted about Block #14 just follow the instructions below.  If you haven't a blog you can send me your photo and I'll add it here.

1. Write your blog post. Publish it on your blog.
2. Copy the link of the specific blog post. This is not just the link to your blog itself (www.chestercriswellquilt.blogspot.com), but the link to the specific post: (http://chestercriswellquilt.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/hows-it-going.html)
3. Click the blue link up button below and paste your link into the box.

Back to Block 14

Block 14  Twin Tulips

Mary Wilson was 16 and living with her mother when she signed her block for Mary Criswell's quilt.  Mary Wilson then disappears from the census records.  She probably married but there isn't an easy way to trace her once her surname has changed.

I decided to follow Mary's siblings to see if there were any clues to Mary's timeline.  I used one of my favourite genealogical sites, www.findagrave.com and discovered the grave-site of her sister-in-law Elizabeth Wilson.  Included with a photo of the tombstone was this intriguing historical snapshot.

"Elizabeth was the mother of Martha (Ella) Long, wife of R. A. Long, the lumber baron, who started his Long-Bell Lumber Company in the small community of Columbus, Kansas.
She was a Quaker and a woman of great courage and foresight. She moved her nine children from Pennsylvania to the new and primitive town of Columbus, Cherokee County, Kansas following her husband's death in 1868."

Martha Ellen (Ella) Long nee Wilson

I googled 'R A Long timber baron' and was introduced to the R A Long Historical Society.

Robert Alexander Long grew up in Kentucky and migrated to Kansas as a young man. He tried his hand at a number of enterprises and failed at each.  R A Long spent one season making hay which he stored in timber sheds; the hay was cut at the wrong time and proved worthless.  Long consequently dismantled the sheds and sold the lumber at a profit.  Selling timber led to buying a sawmill, then a coal mine, then a railroad and the successes never stopped.

R A Long built his home Corinthian Hall in Kansas City Missouri.  It now houses the Kansas City Museum.

Corinthian Hall

R A Long also built Longview Farm, a model farm of 1,780 acres with 60 buildings, a chapel, a hotel and 175 employees.  Longview Farm was famous for its show horses.

Show Barn at Longview Farm

R A Long married Elizabeth Wilson's daughter Ella in 1876.  Their first child, a boy, lived for only a few weeks.  Robert and Ella Wilson then had two daughters, Sallie America and Loula.

Sallie America Long

Sallie America Long went to finishing school in Washington, D.C. and then went on a world tour.  She met and married Hayne Ellis, a naval officer, and established a home in Washington D.C.  When her husband died she returned to Longview Farm to live with her sister Loula.

Loula Long

Loula Long was a horsewoman.  She was one of the first women to compete against men in horse and carriage events. Loula was well known for the horses she bred at Longview Farm and for her hats.  She married Robert Combs lived with him and her children at the Farm.

Loula Long Combs driving Capitvation

I found the story of the Wilsons and the Longs fascinating, I hope you have enjoyed this brief glimpse into their amazing lives.