History on a Piece of Cloth

Yesterday my friend Kim and I attended a fabulous talk at the Kansas City Public Library. The talk was titled History on a Piece of Cloth, and the speaker was Nancy Jo Leachman, a librarian and historian from Salina, Kansas. I have a long-time interest in feed sack fabrics, so when Kim asked me to go with her it was a no brainer answer. And, we are both so glad that we went.

Now Nancy Jo isn't a quilter, or even a sewist, but she certainly knows her history and she has the same passion for collecting flour sacks that many of us have for collecting feed sacks. What's the difference, you ask?

Many of Nancy Jo's sacks are pre-calico feed sacks. In other words, plain white but with amazing labels printed on the bags. Nancy Jo limits her obsession to flour sacks (not sugar, feed, or any other commodity) and only those from Kansas flour mills. You would be amazed at how many sacks she has collected within those parameters.

Later I'll share some photos and more info, but in the mean time, if you have a chance to catch Nancy Jo's talk somewhere -- GO! You won't regret it and you'll learn a lot from a simple piece of cloth.