On my mother’s side, the branch of the family I am most familiar with, there is a long tradition of skilled needlework, fine sewing, and quilting, passed through the generations in the European manner. The American progenitors of this part of the family tree immigrated to Louisiana from France, arriving at the port of New Orleans in the 1800s, and settling in French-speaking Avoylles Parish, in the center of the state. One set of my mother’s grandparents owned a country store. Today, proudly displayed in our dining room, is a primitive quilt made by a child of the family, who patchworked and featherstitched the wool fabric samples that my great-grandparents used to order fabrics for customers at their general store.Read More...