Vintage Re-done

As a result of having some extra time on my (Kara) hands thanks to the lockdowns, I decided I would make all three of our children quilts. I had intentions of doing that for them about 20 years ago, but only succeeded in making one child her own quilt (you can read about that HERE). The first two quilts had been finished and quilted and so I had one left to make. A long time ago, I purchased an old quilt top in a thrift store and I had yet to do anything with it. The top was probably from the 60's and was a color-filled amalgamation of scraps, with no apparent rhyme or reason as to the color placement. That didn't matter to our oldest as she has a love for all things vintage and this quilt top spoke to her.

Before I knew better, I washed the quilt top when I brought it home—big mistake. Some of the fabrics were not typical quilting cottons and a few of them frayed through the seams. When I decided to re-make this for my daughter, I knew that surgery would be involved and that not all the blocks would make it. What started out as a 30 block quilt, would have to be reduced to 20. In order to neaten things up a bit, I knew I would have to trim the blocks to a uniform size. The downside to that is that I would lose the points on the center square, but I just told myself that it would become a "snowball".

The aftermath of un-sewing

The trimmed blocks that made the cut.

The next decision to be made was what to do with the sashing. My hands had gotten sore from all the un-stitching, so taking apart all the cornerstones was not going to happen. Since the sashing had to be trimmed to the new block size, I didn't hesitate to cut out the cornerstones, but this meant I had to replace it with something. I remembered that I had a box of gingham that I received from my Grandma before she passed. Kaitlin, our daughter, was fortunate to know and love her Great-Grandma, so using this fabric added a special twist to this re-make.

The gingham cornerstones

I dug into the box of gingham again for the backing and there was a green and white piece that my grandmother had already sewn into a backing, so it was pretty apparent that it was meant to be the backing for this quilt. My long-arm friend Lisa and I decided on a great all-over leaf pattern for the quilt, and Lisa did a fantastic job completing the journey of this crazy, vintage quilt top!

This hot pink!

Gotta love a good paisley!

One of my favorite fabrics.

What was a discarded item, ended up being transformed into a unique beauty full of special details that will speak to the new owner. I don't know anything about the original maker, but I hope she would love to see what became of her quilt top.

Delightful Doilies and Linens from the Mid Atlantic Quilt Show

A couple of weeks ago, Teri and I (Kara) were able to attend the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Show. We go there yearly, as it falls right before The Academy of Appliqué. It is a small show, but it usually has a great variety of quilts, and this year was no different. One exhibit in particular became our favorite, as it gave us lots of great ideas for our very large doily collection. This exhibit was created by Nancy S. Breland and was called Exploring Vintage Linens. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Color Progression

Birthday Party

Detail Birthday Party

Blue Bugles

Spider Web

Twinkling Stars

Pennies From Heaven

Detail Pennies From Heaven

Turn to the Sun

Golden Garden Spider

Detail Golden Garden Spider

Red and White Challenge

Knitted Doily

Carved Pearl Buttons

Detail Carved Pearl Buttons

Pearls on Purple

Calla Lily

Detail Calla Lily

Dazzling Doily

Lavish Linens

Detail Lavish Linens

I forgot to take a picture of the title, but what a great way to use a doily!

This was such a great exhibit, and there were many other wonderful quilts at this show. When Teri and I attended this show a little less than a month ago, we had no idea that our world would change so much in just a short amount of time. I moved up my departure date a week so that I could get back to Germany in case they closed the borders and am happy to be safely back with my husband and pups. 

Many of us have been asked to "shelter in place" for a while to help curb the spread of the virus. We like to look at it as mandated stitching time, and many other stitchers are, too! There are quite a few stitch-alongs going on and can be found on the various quilting Facebook groups out there. What are you working on while you are sheltering? Are you stitching along with a group? Please share what you are doing so others might get some ideas. We are stitching on next year's projects already, but we may take a break from that to see what we can do with some doilies. Thank you, Nancy Breland, for the wonderful inspiration!

Stay safe and healthy!

When the Unknown Surprises You!

As we have shared in the past, Teri and I (Kara) are novice quilt collectors. We started with a few quilts that we inherited and picked up a few here and there as we wander the antique malls—one of our absolute favorite things to do together! A few of those inherited and purchased quilts have been shared on the blog (you can read about them by clicking on the links at the end of this post). Over here in Germany, there are not many antique quilts to be found, so I have formed a habit, albeit not necessarily a financially savvy habit, of perusing some online auction sites. 

My first purchase of a quilt online started with finding a quilt that I kind of liked because it was different. The description was minimal at best and read, Late 19th century pieced quilt, hand-stitched and hand-quilted, 7'2"x7'2". I knew I liked the quilt for the colors and the pattern, and that was about it—my expectations were low for the most part. I had it sent to Teri because it was simpler than shipping it across the pond. When the quilt came and Teri opened it, we were both in shock as to the quality of this quilt, the perfection of the hand piecing, and the density of the quilting. 

This view doesn't do the quilt justice as far as how it was made or its size. It is on a king-size bed and measures 87"x 86".

At the time of this purchase, my fabric dating knowledge was very limited, so I assumed that the auction house was correct in that this was a late 19th-century quilt. Much to my surprise, the appraiser dated the quilt at around 1830, based on the fabrics, with one little piece dated at 1810! This quilt is best appreciated in person, but since that isn't possible in a blog, here are some close-ups with more information from the appraisal.

The quilting from the back side.

The tiny 3/8-inch grid stitches

A near perfect diagonal grid

The pattern is King David's Crown,—#3649 in Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns.

Each block is 14 3/8" square.

The blue in this fabric caught my eye and was one of the reasons I purchased the quilt.

For the most part this quilt, from a fabric perspective, appears to have been very thoughtfully laid out. But for some of the blocks at the bottom of the quilt, the maker had to resort to picking some pieces out of her scrap bag.

Here, all the component parts of the block are uniform.

The first dip into the scrap bag

The one block that has quite a few different fabrics

One of the earliest fabrics in the quilt

And one of the others

The pink that was used throughout

Another fabric with the blue that I love

This fabric has such an interesting pattern.

A beautiful brown

The quilt is in excellent condition for its age with some staining, fading, and migrating colors. There are also a couple—very carefully done—vintage repairs, but you really have to look for them. 

The one fabric that has experienced some disintegration and color migration.

Another thing that is wonderful about this quilt is the precision piecing. All her points meet perfectly, and the blocks are pieced so beautifully!

Here you can see just how close she was able to get the points to meet.

Alas, I have no provenance for this quilt, other than it came from an estate in Massachusetts. Having it appraised gave me so much more information, thanks to Phyllis Hatcher. The maker of this quilt was obviously a highly skilled seamstress, but as far as why it was made, for whom, and where, we have to make suppositions. I would have loved to have sat by her side as she made it to see her techniques—and maybe get some hand quilting tips!

I thought I was buying a late 19th century quilt for which I didn't spend an exorbitant amount. Much to my surprise, I purchased a much older quilt and one that far exceeded the value of what I spent; however, the monetary value is not what I treasure. Being able to see the thoughtfulness in the maker's fabric selection, her attention to detail in all aspects of the quilt, and owning such a wonderful representation of a quilt made so long ago—that is where the real value lies.

To see some of our other antique quilts, please click on the links below:

Seeing Red and White

A Mysterious Quilt

Log Cabin Love

A Crazy Treasure

What a Lady

A Collection of Antique Blocks

Vintage Flower Baskets

Tattered Elegance