About Me and the Old Hand-Tied Quilt

When my first husband passed away in 1986 he left me with four beautiful children,
a well established commercial construction company, and a 186 acre ranch which is
now about 140 years old.  It was used as a stagecoach stop, post office, grocery store
and church services on Sunday.  Many, many years ago the land was owned by a
Kentucky plantation owner who, after the slaves were freed, gave this land to one of
his slaves named Anna Rose.  The ranch to this day is known as Anna rose.  She fell
in love with a Mexican man but mixed marriages were not allowed in Texas so they
traveled by wagon to New Mexico.  They came back to Texas and raised 12 children.
One of the granddaughters lives across the road from me.  We have been close
friends since 1980.

It was in this ranch house that I found a very old hand-tied quilt filled with cotton
and straw.  It was falling apart and had to be discarded but this old quilt fascinated
me and I tried to envision how it was created for warmth.
 

The old quilt kept haunting me and after retiring to the ranch in 1990 I knew I had
to try and duplicate this quilting technique.  I knew nothing about sewing but
after several months of trial and error I created a blue bandana quilt for my husband
and I.    My family members each loved it and wanted one.  Friends and strangers
wanted one so I found myself lovingly creating quilts and more quilts. I use no
patterns or templates and sew the quilt tops together on a simple sewing machine. 
I then hand-tie and hand-hem each quilt for warmth and lasting beauty.
 I am very passionate about my quilting and put a lot of love and care into each one
 I create so that it will be a quilt someone will treasure and use for many, many years. . 

I guess I am an old-fashioned girl who loves to create old-fashioned hand-tied quilts. 

Sincerely,
Joy Lee Netek Wostal
www.joyscountryquilts.com

I like to think my quilts are like the Texas Bluebonnet flower,
One-Of-A-Kind.

 

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