Log Cabin Love

As novice quilt collectors, Teri and I (Kara) have stumbled upon some wonderful finds in our early collecting days. We do not have infinite budgets, so the quilts we have purchased have been on the low end of the cost spectrum, but usually appraise well above what we paid. I make sure my husband knows that little fact when I come home with an old (new to me) treasure. 

While vacationing in Maine in the fall of 2016, a friend and I did some antiquing in and around Wells, Maine. I wrote about some of the things we saw here, but what I didn't write about was my purchase. When I go to an antique mall and see a booth with any type of linen or fabric, I usually scour the booth from top to bottom. In this case, my intense perusal paid off, and I found this beautiful, log cabin summer quilt.

This particular log cabin is the "Sunshine and Shadows" variation.

Over the course of the last year, I have been fascinated by reproduction fabrics, so when I saw this, my first thought was, "Oh! Someone made a quilt with reproduction fabrics." Then I realized they weren't reproductions! I looked at it closely—it was in good shape, but my knowledge of dating fabrics was minimal at the time. While the price was reasonable, I wanted to think about it some more, as this would be the first time I had purchased a quilt for my collection. After seeing pictures, Teri encouraged me (as a good friend should) to hightail it back to the booth and buy it. Thankfully when I got there, the booth owner was tidying the booth, and I was able to get a little information from her. She had purchased the quilt from another dealer in Maine, who said it came from Dover, New Hampshire, and was made with Cocheco Mills fabrics. Unfortunately, that was all the information she had.

At the time, I had no knowledge of Cocheco Mills and the important part they played in the history of American fabrics. As soon as I got home, I researched the name and found this wonderful article by Kimberly Wulfert, PhD. You can read her article here. Regardless of the type of fabrics, I fell in love with this quiltmaker's use of fabrics.

I love the blue centers, some of which are made from silk.

Of all the reproduction fabrics we have available to us today, I think the pinks are the easiest to find.
The above block contains a good example of a popular pink of that era.

You can still see a little glimpse of the purple in the brownish fabric.

After visiting my favorite appraiser, Phyllis Hatcher, I was able to find out that indeed, this quilt was made from fabrics from the 1870s-1890s. There is no batting, which given its location origin, indicates that it was made to be a summer quilt. The backing is pieced blocks of muslin, and it is evident that the maker was quite thrifty and used up even the smallest scrap of muslin.

Pieced muslin backing 

Closer detail of the stitching

One of the shadow blocks looks like it may have been a mistake—I wondered if the maker just ran out of dark materials. At the appraisal, Phyllis and I discovered that the fabric that looked to be part of the mistake, had indeed been a darker purple that had faded through the years.

The block on the upper left appears to be a mistake.

A close-up of the light fabric

Here you can see the
original purple.

This quilt was a good start to my antique quilt collection; little did I know that eight months later, I would find another log cabin quilt. This time my find was a bit closer to home in Emmitsburg, MD. Teri and I were meeting her parents for lunch as a good-bye before I moved to Germany. We were there a little early, and there just happened to be an antique mall nearby...so off we went. I wandered into a booth near the entrance and found this gem.

Quite a bit different from the previous log cabin quilt

My quilt-dating skills had improved somewhat since my first log cabin purchase, so I guesstimated the age of the quilt as closer to the turn of the century. My guess was confirmed at the appraisal, as most of the fabrics dated in the range of 1880s-1900s. Whereas the first log cabin quilt consisted of almost exclusively cotton, this quilt had a wide range of fabrics: cotton, silk, fouillard, and faille, just to name a few.

The navy fabric pictured was a striped print which allowed the maker

to use the same fabric, but with different looks.

The piecing of this quilt wasn't the most skilled, but that certainly
added to its charm.

A classic red center, and in this block you can see the use of the navy fabric;
this time more of the print is shown.

An interesting thing I discovered when the quilt was appraised, was that it had never been washed! Based on some areas on the edges that were dirtier, we surmised that it had possibly been used on a bed, but had then been put away, since there is little fading of the colors.

A picture of the quilting from the back side

These two quilts were purchased with very little information about their origins. We can make deductions about what they are made of, how old the fabrics are, and even some information about the way they were quilted, but we still don't know their full stories. I certainly wish quilts could talk and tell us all about who made them and why, but for now, we will have to let our imaginations come up with their tale.

If you would like to read more about some of the quilts we have added to our collection, you can read about them in these posts:

Vintage Flower Baskets

A Crazy Treasure

Crazy for Crazy Quilts

AQS QuiltWeek Lancaster: The Rest of the Story

In the last post, "A Peek Into the Quilter" at AQS QuiltWeek Lancaster, we spent the morning on the first floor of the quilt exhibit. I (Teri) had noted that I was impressed by the variety of styles of quilts, but then almost every quilt I'd photographed from that floor was an appliquéd quilt. Well, I'm about to prove my statement true: on the next two floors, there indeed were many techniques demonstrated—and I even have pictures!

Best Wall Quilt Award
STICK WITH ME KID, Jan Berg-Rezmer; Gladwin, MI

Best Original Design Award
MOONFLOWER, Molly Y. Hamilton-McNally; Tehachapi, CA

Detail of Moonflower, by Molly Y. Hamilton-McNally

I love how the quilting mimics the flowers in the quilt!

Best Use of Color Award
GARDEN PARTY #2, Caryl Bryer Fallert-Gentry; Port Townsend, WA

First Place: Wall Quilts – Stationary Machine Quilted
THE VENETIAN, Jan Soules; Elk Grove, CA 

Annabelle's Wedding Feast, Kathleen Roundtree; Castro Valley, CA

I am in awe of this exquisite machine quilting!

Fever Dream, Amy Pabst; Le Roy, WV

Detail of Fever Dream, by Amy Pabst

From a distance, I just saw three large white circles on a red background, but there is so much skill involved in these tiny log cabin blocks. The fabric choices give such richness to the overall quilt. 

I can't imagine the patience it required!

First Place: Wall Quilts – Movable Machine Quilted
IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN 5, Simone de Haan, Beverwijk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

More circles! 

Celtic Fox, Kathy McNeil; Tulalip, WA

Detail of Celtic Fox, by Kathy McNeil

I had to take a close-up of this owl for Kara. Doesn't it almost look real?

I...Reflection of Life, Olga Gonzalez-Angulo; Sant Feliu de Guixols, Spain

My mind raced with stories about this one, wondering what that young man was pondering as he looked at his reflection.

An Early Spring Day, Noriko Endo; Tokyo, Japan

Details of An Early Spring Day, Noriko Endo

At first glance, we thought perhaps this effect was achieved by fabric painting (the bird was), but upon closer scrutiny, we could see that she had used tiny scraps of fabric secured under a piece of tulle that was then machine quilted. What an interesting technique!

Otaru Winter, Cynthia L. Vogt; Kennewick, WA

Details of Otaru Winter, by Cynthia L. Vogt

As was the case with Fever Dream, this one had little appeal for me at first. It was interesting, but it wasn't sparking any stories in my mind—until I saw it close-up. And then, I was intrigued. I could almost feel the cold of the bleak winter; and yet, I could see the depth and richness of the snow's beauty in the silk log cabin blocks. The workmanship of this piece of fabric art was amazing.

Second Place: Wall Quilts – Movable Machine Quilted
Tuscany Village, Claudia Scheja; Werne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Detail of Tuscany Village, by Claudia Scheja

What incredible quilting!

The next quilt had to be shot from three different angles. Magical Toys, made by Flora Joy of Johnson City, TN, won third place in the category Wall Quilts – Stationary Machine Quilted. The artist uses a fascinating technique of pleating her pictorial fabric so that a different image is seen from different angles. In each corner of the frame, there is an embroidered challenge. One read: "Un-Zip this challenge: If all three of these critters lived in your house, tell what a day in your life might be like." Oh, so many stories are stitched into this quilt!

 Magical Toys, Flora Joy; from the left 

Magical Toys, Flora Joy; from the center

Magical Toys, Flora Joy; from the right

Cabin Fever, Patti Sandage; Middleton, TN

My friend, Barb, told me this one reminded her of my quilt Turning to Him. Mine was not nearly this elaborate, but we did both use twisted log cabin blocks. (To see my quilt, click here.)

First Place: Wall Quilts – Landscape
SUMMER SOLSTICE, Leah Gravells, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 

Details of Summer Solstice, made by Leah Gravells

A masterful use of fabric and color; what tiny, skinny strips of batiks stitched together to create this longest day of the year. And it's a quilt about my birthday! 😃

Drawing Nigh, Betty Jo Tatum; Ashburn, VA

Details of Drawing Nigh, Betty Jo Tatum.

No shortage of stories stirred in my imagination by this quilt!

First Place: Wall Quilts – 1st Entry in an AQS Lancaster Quilt Contest
MY LITTLE ENCHANTED COMPASS, Cristina Arcenegui Bono, Alcalá de Guadaíra, Sevilla, Spain

I can conjure images of many an adventure in this enchanted forest!

Magic Carpet Ride, Cathy Bingham; Knoxville, TN

More adventures!

Detail of Magic Carpet Ride, by Cathy Bingham

Rain Forest Fantasy, by Rina Galant

Kara missed a lot of birds in Lancaster!

Love My Flowers, Sandra Mellinger; Prairieville, LA

~Special Exhibits~

 

Cherrywood Challenge 2016: The Lion King

First Place: The Rising Son, Jill Cranford; Ottowa, IL

Second Place: Who Rules, Pat Hilderbrand; Columbia, MO

Third Place: Zazu's Report,  Sheila Riess; Ellicott City, MD

Shadowlands, Karen McGregor; Brunswick, Australia

Detail: Shadowlands, by Karen McGregor

The storytelling in this quilt is chilling. This one was my pick for Viewer's Choice in this exhibit.

   

Left: Mufasa, Devon Pfeif; Marietta, GA

Right: Rafiki – The Great Mystic, Deb Berkebile; Conneaut, OH

Left: Fifteen Warthogs, Marilyn Smith; Columbia, MO

Right: Detail of embroidered warthogs

The Journey of Life, Anita Whichello; Baxter, MN

Focus and Fiber: Quilts by Melissa Sobotka

             

Venetian Menagerie, Melissa Sobotka, 2011; Detail above

La Rocca, Melissa Sobotka, 2009

SAQA: Made in Europe

Castelliccio—The Ghost Town, D. Arnoldi & M. Sarzi-Sartori; Italy

Detail of Castelliccio—The Ghost Town, by D. Arnoldi & M. Sarzi-Sartori

Black Sun, Karin Østergaard, Denmark

AQS Authors Showcase

Frame of Mind, featured in Trispective: The 3-n-1 Quilt, Flora Joy

Jane Sassaman's FreeSpirit Designs

We had just enough time to visit the remaining vendors. I purchased Karen Kay Buckley's Perfect Adjustable Square™ and some Rustic Wool Moire thread, and then we searched for some reproduction fabric. Barb was looking for border fabric to go with a Seven Sisters top that she hand-pieced (in honor of the seven sisters in her family.) She bought the pattern and fabric in 2010, on our first trip together to Quilt Festival in Houston; she said it was only fitting that I help her find the border fabric. Unfortunately, we only had this photo from a text she'd sent me as she was assembling the quilt top. 

Yoko M. of Lancaster Traditional, above, was a great help to us, as we dug through her piles of beautifully assembled packages of coordinating reproduction fabrics. I wanted to get some of everything, but realized that purchasing large quantities of fabric that I would have to go home and pack for our move might not make sense. I did, however, find a print that I think might work to stitch a flower in a block we are creating based on one we saw in a Baltimore Album Quilt that we viewed at Lovely Lane. And we found a stunning border for Barb's quilt. I convinced her to buy it (I love spending other people's money!) and promised that if it didn't work, I'd buy it from her. Well, it looks like I won't get to take it off her hands; she loved the border and is making plans to do some broderie perse and appliqué some of the flowers from the extra border into the quilt top. Yay, Barb!

We closed the show, with two sewing machine purchases amongst the seven of us. One of the sisters had to buy a sewing/embroidery machine when she found out that her niece would be able to get a free machine. What a great aunt! (I hear that her niece has been busy sewing all week!)

We had seven women, including a teenager, in two adjoining rooms, and we spent the evening celebrating a birthday. The "birthday girl," bedecked in a plastic tiara, led a rousing game of none other than Pin the Tail on the Donkey, which none of us (except the teen) had played in about 40 or 50 years. We laughed until we cried. What a gift it is to have been adopted as a "sister" into such a loving family of sisters! 

    

The next day, we hit the outlets for a short shopping trip before heading home. Quilts, laughing, games, shopping, sisters—all in all, a PERFECT weekend!