Old Salem Trip

The quilt guild was planning a trip to Old Salem, located in Winston-Salem to visit MESDA (Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts) and tour the town.  A bus was hired and there was to be a quilt turning.  I thought, what the heck, maybe I will learn something new about quilting and I don't have to drive.

We met bright and early and rode the hour and a half to Old Salem.  Our first stop was the museum and we were hustled into a large room with several table pushed together covered with quilts.  We each donned a pair of white gloves.  The museum curator proceeded to talk about each quilt.  They were all hand made and dated from the early 1700's to late 1800's.  Since they were made with store bought fabric and still in good shape, it was determined that they came from wealthy households and were used  for wall hangings or decorations.  Here is a sample of what we saw:

The middle of this one is done in honeycombs, all pieced by hand!

Look at the applique

My favorite.  Done in jewel colored velvets.

After is was over, I thought to myself, when are they going to show us the quilt turning?  And I realized we had already seen it.  After each quilt was displayed, it was folded and put away and the next one was underneath.  Hence, quilt turning.  Duh.

We took a tour of the museum and saw lots of old furniture, pictures, samplers, and quilts.  We wandered over to Mayberry's Restaurant where we waited in line for 20 minutes to order a sandwich, and then waited some more for it to be made.  Downstairs was Winkler's Bakery, established in 1807.  I purchased a sugar cake and Moravian sugar cookies, and a recipe booklet so I can make them at home.

The Moravian Church was open for tours and we wandered around admiring the wooden floors and pews, the stained glass windows.

The town of Old Salem is a living history town that recreates life during 1766 to 1840.  Folks dress in period clothes, stores sell historical replicas of objects used by the Moravians who settled there in 1766. The buildings have been restored and the sidewalks are made of bricks.

What a fun day we had.