It was a typical hot dusty day in the town of Oatman, in about 1978, when I bought these quilt tops from a swap meeter beside the road, Old Route 66. I paid only $25, but to me, they seemed truly precious.

Before I put them up out of reach of my toddler's hands, I examined them a little more closely. Each tiny piece was hand sewn to the next. One quilt was made of blue or white triangles 3" on a side; the other of hexagons cut from various patterns of fabric--1" to a side! The blue and white quilt had a blue ribbon pinned to it from the Crowley County Fair, 1928. The note with it was faded and pretty much unreadable. 

I kept meaning to finish these quilt tops, or to at least display them; instead, I occasionally took them out of storage to admire the meticulous work and to wonder about their maker, then put them carefully back.

A few weeks ago, I took them out again, remembering the day I bought them and intending to write about that in my memoirs. This time I noticed the state (Colorado) and city (Sugar City) on the blue ribbon, and was able to decipher the faded pencil writing on the note to discover the name of the maker, Amalia N Bates, age 77. I got a strong sense that if I could find her descendents, it was time for the quilts to go home.

I googled Sugar City--it was a boom town that grew up around a sugar beet factory about the time people were flocking to Oatman to search for gold. Like Oatman, it's population has dwindled (from about 1500 to about 200--400). I googled Crowley County and found contact information for the Crowley Historical Society and Annette. Annette and her team were able to find Amalia's great great grand daughter, Shelia Burns! Annette got me in contact with Shelia and we talked.

Two days later, the quilts were packaged up and on their way home! Now I'm working out why these quilts meant so much to me for so long. I'm painting, drawing, and writing to deepen my understanding and to honor the quilt maker, Amalia N. Bates, who sewed each little piece to the next by hand, at age 77!