Tying the Knot: a Kansas Quilter is a story about my great grandmother, Kizzie Hamman Pieratt.

Tying the Knot is available on Amazon.

Born in 1874, Kizzie grew up in a large family in the Flint Hills of Kansas. Because there were no older sons in the family, she helped her father with the farming and was known to be more interested in being outside doing farm work than inside doing housework.

Kizzie married Ira Pieratt in 1894 and immediately started their own family that eventually had eight children. The oldest, Paul was born in 1894 and the youngest, James was born in 1914.

Except for a five year absence when they participated in the Oklahoma Land Rush and ran a hardware store, they always farmed near their families around Strawn, Kansas.

Kizzie’s father gave her land – supposedly to get them back home from Oklahoma – and they built a new homestead on her new piece of prairie.

Besides being in charge of the farming, Kizzie was known for her quilting. That was one housework job she excelled in. I’m sure at first it was just necessary bedding to keep her brood warm, but she also completed quilts for other people for an income.

I’m taking a closer look at the family quilts that my great grandmother Kizzie made during her ninety-seven years because quilting is a prominent theme, like it was in my Trail of Thread series.

As I handle these antique quilts, I wonder who touched this same fabric during its lifetime. Who wore the dress first that later became part of a quilt block? Who helped quilt it? My great uncle Ralph said he and his younger siblings spent time around the quilt frame while Kizzie read to them.

The thought of writing her story is what started my career as a writer. I hope you enjoy reading Tying the Knot and think of your own special ancestors.