Stop at Lucas, Kansas

The next time you are on I-70 heading west, stop at Lucas, Kansas.  Take exit 206 and head north 16 miles on 232N, the scenic byway.

We had to see their latest addition to eccentricity, their new public bathroom. There aren't signs leading you to it, but that is really unncessary. Lucas is not that big.

The town is renowned for the Garden of Eden, one of my favorite places to visit. When my mom was little, she would stay with her aunt and uncle and cousins in Lucas, Uncle Dick was the stationmaster for the railroad there. She remember being scared by the spooky garden sculptures and running instead of walking by it!

The new public restroom project opened on June 2. They call it Bowl Plaza. Notice the area around the door. It is a fantastic mosiac. full of familiar items: some dishes, cup handles. Just fantastic. I included one detail shot below, areas are arranged by color.

Next time you are by, don't miss it! Oh by the way, this public restroom has hours of operation! We didn't even get to use it, we were there too early in the day. But we can see some of the inside in the Salina Journal link attached. Wow, we might need to make another stop.

Summer reading

We're heading to the cool mountains. I'm taking books, both real books and ebooks.
A pile of fabric too, I hope to come up with something to show you.

I love to read. I love good writing. I just finished a book about Gertrude Stein and Alice Toklas, Gertrude & Alice by Diane Souhami. She did a lovely job of bringing them to life. What characters they were!

I'm currently reading Heartburn by Nora Ephron. I read it when it came out in the 80s and after reading so much about her life when she died recently, i thought I should revisit it. It's always interesting to read a book again, years after that first read. Boy is she funny. She was and always shall be.

I'm also taking along The Chaperone, Laura Moriarity's new book. Laura lives in Lawrence and I got to hear her talk about this book recently. It's about a notorious flapper and my Grandma (posing right) was a flapper. So I can't wait to read this one.

Ebooks! I'm loving quilt ebooks. I am finding them fun to look at on my reader. I recently got Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Nyberg & Cheryl Arkison. It has great quilts and a great chapter about organizing scraps. I dream of the day when my scraps are organized, I think this could help.

Last but not least, I'm taking John Irving's new book, In One Person. I hear it is more like Garp than his recent work. Fingers crossed!

The Best Pine Burr

My friend Carol Jones provided me with information about the best Pine Burr quilt ever. She's seen it, at the Saint Louis Museum of Art. I've pasted a photo of it below, but you can get a better look at it on the museum web site. Click on African American art, the quilt is image 35 there.

Cuesta Benberry acquired the quilt, made in 1995 by Lucy Mingo in Gee's Bend, Alabama. Cuesta gave the quilt to the museum in 2007, just months before she passed away. The quilt is cotton and polyester and measures 93" x 81".

Cuesta was interviewed by the St. Louis American when she presented the quilt in April 2007. She said: "The design is savored especially by Southern African Americans, but it is not solely an African-American design. It does date from the 19th century. At that time it was made by both white and black Americans, but it seems to have become an African-American design of choice - especially Southern, rural blacks make that quilt to display their expertise.

Check it out.