Friday, May 6, 2011

Kalona’s Quilts and Farms


Though I come from a long line of quilters, the desire to piece a covering from tiny scraps of fabric never took hold with me. I tried. Too tedious. I also think a quilter’s mindset is one that starts from a small place and fashions outward. I tend to paint broad strokes and work gradually to a detail where I will often get lost.

But I love quilts, especially the ones with the provenance of flour sacks, house dresses and little girl’s jumpers. I do own quilts and never tire of looking at the work of others, which is why I went down to Kalona. Calling itself the quilt capital of Iowa, Kalona boasts shops with quilt making supplies and souvenirs, a few restaurants, and quilt patterns of colored bricks set into the sidewalk. The town was hosting a quilt show and I wanted to take a look.

Hung in narrow rows in the small community center were three to four dozen quilts of varying sizes. The centerpiece—at least for me— was a stunning king size quilt in a floral medallion design of puffy appliqué. It was priced at $12,000. If I had made that quilt, I don’t think I would have sold it, no matter what. How many hours did it take?

This was the centerpiece of the show.
Some of this fabric looks hand-painted.


Kalona also is home to the largest Amish and Mennonite community west of the Mississippi. Along the back roads are lovely farms as well as a few Amish run grocery stores and bakery. Extra-wide shoulders along the highway accommodate horse drawn buggies.

Laundry dries on the line at this farm outside Kalona.

Organic milk from the modest and plainly dressed bovines of this area is used in my favorite yogurt, Kalona SuperNatural. Also in Kalona is the Cheese Haus, a factory where you can watch cheese curds being made and, if your timing is just right, you can take home a bag of still-warm squeaky goodness.

You can see the Cheese Haus’ two 500,000 pound milk tanks and other photos in my Kalona set on Flickr. Just click here to view them all.