America The Beautiful Quilt

Hi there!   Have you ever looked at a quilt and just became speechless?  Well, this doesn't happen often to me, but when I saw this quilt I fell in love.  

I fell in love with the story this quilt tells.  I fell in love with the pure tradition this quilt holds.  The tradition of honor, love, and joy our country brings!  This quilt is truly a work of art, and I had the pleasure of interviewing the amazing woman behind this quilt!  

I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I did! 

America The Beautiful Quilt -- Louise Censhaw

You can purchase the pattern for this quilt HERE

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself Louise?

Edna Louise Hart Crenshaw: I am a native Texan, born and raised here in Colorado City. In fact I now live in the house where I grew up (1938-1953). I was able to buy the house back from the people who bought it from my folks. I moved back here in 2000 from Fort Worth after my husband passed away. We have two sons and two daughters, five grandsons and three granddaughters and five great-granddaughters and two great-grandsons and another baby on the way.

How did you learn to quilt and how long have you been quilting?

My Grandmother Hart had a quilt in a frame at all times and my mother quilted - Her mother made many quilts lost in their house fire.  I have sewn forever and started quilting when we moved to Fort Worth in 1982.

How long did it take you to complete this quilt?

I did not keep record of the time - it was a 6 month project from McCall's Quilting but I didn't start on it until it hit me that I just had to make. By that time I had to look for a missing magazine! Just now looked on my blog and the first block picture was posted April 2012.

What is your favorite part of the quilt and why?

The idea/honor/love of America. I love the picture of the quilt on my front porch - that is America in a small house in a small, rural town. There is just something about the quilt – there are really no words to describe what I feel. The quilt is on the bed in the guest bedroom and my daughters discussed who was going to sleep under it first!

What was the hardest part about making this quilt?

I don't recall any hard parts that I couldn't work out no matter how long it took - I posted pictures of the progress on my blog: http://quilts2sew.blogspot.com/ as I went  - I was such fun to see it coming together.

Would you make this again?!

Yes I would make it again. In fact when I look at it I make it all over again in my mind...It was such fun getting in my stash to find the pieces it needed and to order what I just knew I needed. The fabrics were chosen for their part of the overall picture: there are feathers in the “Fields of Grain”... different houses for different folks – our community here in CCity...

What are you working on now?

Promise you won’t scream when I tell you what all I am working on: binding a quilt for a Granddaughter, “designing” a quilt for a friend, making hexes and work in progress of three blocks of the month, plus one more to begin in August.

What advice would you give to the beginner quilter?

 Jump right in and do it – make mistakes, do your own thing, gather the stash and enjoy to process!

Do you belong to any quilting groups or guilds? 
I don’t belong to a group or guild.  The Methodist Quilters here in CCity quilt most of my quilts for me. I was a member of the Trinity Valley Quilters Guild when we lived in Fort Worth.

Where can we find the pattern to make this wonderful quilt?

McCall’s Quilting Magazine – January/February 2011 “America the Beautiful” Six part series designed by Lynn Lister


This quilt has really inspired me! Like Louise mentioned, this quilt is all about the pure love and honor that we have for our country.  I truly enjoyed learning about Louise and about her quilt. I want to thank Louise for taking the time to tell us all about this wonderful quilt and for sharing her talent with us.

Talk to you soon,