Quiltmakers at Work, or Hey, There’s a Menagerie on my Petticoat

This beautifully detailed quilted petticoat made in 1758 was owned by Sarah Halsey and was a gift to the CHS from the Lyman Allyn Museum, New London.

A mermaid, a lion, a griffin (or is it a leopard?), a fish, two stags, three rabbits, three different birds and what might be a dog. That’s the list of intricately stitched figures found around the border of Sarah Halsey’s amazing quilted petticoat.

Forget the Futon, It’s Time for Grown-Up Furniture

Ok, I’ll admit that we still have a futon in our basement. But that’s not our greatest source of furniture shame. I remember vividly the hot afternoon we set out to get a new desk for my husband. I was a graduate student at the time and money was short, so we headed to a local discount furniture dealer. What a bargain—we chose the floor model of the particle board desk/hutch/computer tray combo—all we had to do to add to the savings was get it home ourselves.