I spent a week on vacation in CO in June, where I stayed in Estes Park and had the good fortune to explore the surrounding area and the Rocky Mountain National Park. What a gem of a place with such natural beauty. We visited the MacGregor Ranch Museum just outside Estes Park and had a tour of the house and grounds nestled against the backdrop of spectacular rocky cliff faces in the Black Canyon Creek area.

The MacGregor Ranch is a showplace of early life among settlers and homesteaders in the early Colorado Territory.  Founded in 1873 by Alexander and Clara MacGregor, and left in trust by their granddaughter Muriel MacGregor, the Ranch today is a working cattle ranch and a youth education center. There were a small number of quilts on display in the bedrooms and I was particularly drawn to this one made by Clara MacGregor in the early 1900’s from 1890’s fabric scraps.

I’m sure all these fabrics have their own stories. There’s a good chance that the triangles were cut out of leftover pieces from dresses or other home made household items. Perhaps Clara’s friends gave her some of their scraps to increase the variety of fabrics in the quilt. The result is beautiful.