Great Aunt Ruth's Famous Lime Pickles

GREAT AUNT RUTH'S FAMOUS LIME PICKLES, 59" x 39", 1986. Vintage tablecloth that belonged to my Great Aunt Ruth with evidence of her heavy-handed washing methods, antique linens, lace and bead embellishment, hand applique and hand quilted (!).

I am posting this for Jane to show her that indeed there are other deviled-egg quilts out there. I was about to go hunting for this old piece when I noticed it was marked 'sold' in my book- I have no idea where it might be. SO, I will tell you the story anyway. Family legend has Aunt Ruth crossing the prairie with her first husband in a Canastoga wagon and settled in Colorado- she was 15 years old. I have no clue what happened to that husband, but she was on her own until she met John, a mountain guide who has a peak named for him in the Rockies, 'John's Peak'. OK, so they weren't very creative, but these folks don't embellish much. There isn't any evidence that they ever married, an early version of the don't-ask-don't-tell philosphy. At some point Ruth did cleaning for some of the old hotels around Estes Park and apparently might have had some light fingers because there was quite a collection of old hotel silver in her drawers years later- but we don't mention this.

Ruth and John eventually ended up in a log cabin on the banks of the Cache la Pouder River where John would catch trout for breakfast and Ruth would make the lightest fluffiest biscuits on earth. She was fun and full of life and a comedian, standing on the driveway and letting her false teeth drop from her mouth to make funny faces as she waved goodbye. For all of her exuberance I don't think I ever heard John talk. She was built like a brick outhouse (my dad's expression for those of stocky physique) from years of snitching the crispy fat off of roasts, and John was rail thin and craggy.

When my brother was killed in 1968, Colorado State University had a little ceremony to unveil a plaque for him on the side of the chapel. I went out with my mother for the ceremony and we stayed with Aunt Ruth in the cabin. For lunch one day she had a big Mason jar of pickles she had put up and I ate the whole jar. She gave me the recipe, which of course I have never used because sometimes it's best to let your memory do the work.

The tablecloth had worked it's way to my mother, but she didn't use it much because it was stained and had some holes from overuse, so I got it. it was thick linen with ratty fringe showing how much it had been washed, in soft shades of red and off white. Well, in my continuing quest for old stuff I was in NYC at an antiques dealer and found the exact same tablecloth, UNUSED and still with it's lables and box. It was georgous, the original colors were maroon and grey! Unfortunately the price was astronomical so I didn't buy it but I always thought it so odd to find the same tablecloth new- the universe was showing me how it had evolved apparently, and that gave me permission to cut it up. I simply cut out the holes and spots and resewed it together without worrying about matching it up again.

And with this quilt a new direction was established because I have been doing the same thing for over 20 years now! I love working with 'pre-owned' fabrics! The only thing I regret is not having the stories that they contain like I did for the red and white tablecloth.