Red Floral Quilt ~ 1855

Quilts have been on my mind. Somehow I've been pulled into stitching two new quilt tops. I always feel like I have accomplished something if I complete one, and now I have two that I am sewing on at the same time. A little bit here and a little bit there.  I wonder --- will I actually achieve my goal of two completed quilt tops? Of course! Both are king size. I am motivated and both are Bonnie Hunter designs. I am enjoying learning her techniques and I really enjoy how there is a flow and ease to stitching her patterns.

Speaking of quilts, I thought I would share pictures of a quilt I found at an old flour mill and restaurant recently. It was on display along one wall of the eating area. The stitching is amazing! All hand-quilted, each stitch looks perfect to me, and I admit that I examined the quilt for awhile. The hand applique was also stunning. This quilt was made in 1855. It's easy to envision that the stitcher of this quilt was a pioneer who came west on the Oregon trail. Imagine the hours and hours of work that were spent in careful creation of this practical project. Don't you wish you knew the whole story?

Although it's not my place to worry about things like lack of protection from light and dust, I was concerned that it was displayed in an open area where it could be touched and handled. The note pinned to the quilt with an old pin concerns me as well, as it looks to be on the verge of rusting. What would you do? Would you talk to the business owner about care of the gem of this antique quilt? Sometimes it is really tough to mind your own business when you have appreciation for the stitching of another. An inquiring mind wants to know.

Old Quilts

Hexies with Yarn Ties

I am naturally drawn to old quilts. It doesn't matter how ugly or worn they are. I believe each quilt has a story. It's a story that I may never be able to fully decipher, but one that is worthy of contemplating and spending time thinking about. No matter how flawed a quilt may be, there is something of interest and value within those fibers.

Wool Quilt

Some old quilts were crafted with well-honed skills. Time, effort, and skill went into each design and every stitch. But just because a quilt was made in the "olden days" it doesn't mean it was automatically stitched as a piece of art. Sometimes an old quilt was made simply to provide warmth for the family. And sometimes quality stitching or design was the last thing on the quilters mind. Quilts were how families kept warm! Poorly heated homes frequently had chilly bedrooms! A quilt was what provided a cozy and warm place to sleep. 

Yarn Tied and Muslin

Yardage for any quilt is fairly expensive these days. I suspect purchasing quilting fabric could have been even more of a hardship in days gone by. Many old quilts that are still around to be viewed and appreciated are made from scraps of garments. When a dress or shirt grew to be too small or tattered to be worn, the good parts of the garment were cut out to be used as quilt blocks. Inventive. Thrifty. Waste not, want not.

Strips and Scraps

Sometimes {frequently} if a selected fabric was not large enough to create a whole strip or block, the seamstress stitched pieces together to create a whole. Usually they would use the same fabric to create a whole, but occasionally they would simply add another fabric to the strip or piece to make the whole. Can you see the black stripe in the quilt above that becomes a white stripe part way through? That was a common trait with thrifty quilters.  I have several old quilts that my great-grandmother made. She was super thrifty! Many of the pieces have been stitched together to make a block. Fortunately, most of her piecing was with the same color and type of fabric of the original piece. By using great-grandmother's method, the eye forgives or doesn't see the patchwork, instead, looking at the whole for the full-effect.

Log Cabin

Somewhere in the recesses of my memory is my all-time favorite old quilt. I found it years ago while hiking to an old Civil War fort. While others were intent upon finding old bullets and exploring cannons, I was mesmerized by a log cabin quilt on display in the visitor's center. It was made of all wool fabrics, each which had been a part of the uniform of a Civil War soldier. As is tradition with authentic log cabin quilts, the center of each block was a square of orange wool. The quilt was old, worn, and drab. It also spoke of loyalty, truth, respect, and patriotism.

Sensational Hand Quilting

This beautiful appliqued quilt is one I found recently in a private museum. It was made in 1855 which would make it smack, dab in the middle of the Oregon Trail era. Because it was viewed near the Idaho and Oregon border, one would naturally assume that this quilt was made by a pioneer woman. The materials were quality, still holding together very well with no fraying or fading. But the amazing thing about this old quilt --- the stitching! The hand-stitching for this quilting was amazing! Super tiny stitches were evenly stitched on the entire quilt top. Mostly squares, a flower with heart-shaped petals were scattered in selected places in the design. This quilt exemplifies stitching perfection!

All That Work for $4.00

This quilt is a true beauty! I do worry about that pin, though. Will it cause rust on that pretty quilt top? There's no cover or protection for this quilt. Next time I go, dare I take a quality, modern quilt pin and ask them if I could replace the one they are using? Would that be ungracious and tacky of me?

Scrappy Quilt

This old quilt was made by a woman I call Mary. I believe that's what they said her name was, but since I cannot remember clearly, let's just say it was. Mary was not a quilter. She probably never made a quilt in her life. But, like many of us, she had her quilt-y dreams. For years she would take a 9 1/2" square piece of muslin and then sew scraps of fabric in a circulating pattern around a focal point. When she passed away, huge stacks of these blocks were found with her belongings. Such devotion and dedication to a cause deserved to reach its conclusion. A faithful quilter took some of the blocks, squared them, pressed them, and stitched them together to make a quilt top that speaks volumes. The story of the history of this quilt, along with the many types of textiles and fabric designs share of times passed that only a quilter would understand. 

Every quilt has a story. If only they could talk. They cannot, so it is our task as those who love and appreciate the stories they tell to figure them out. Do you have an old quilt in your life?

Like a Coat of Many Colors

A Stitchin' Good Time

Our quilt guild met today for our scheduled sewing. Karleen started things off with a short business meeting and then we had "show and tell". Although it's summer and we had fewer in attendance, there were a lot of beautiful quilts to enjoy.

Mary showed us a Mystery Quilt she made awhile back. It's beautiful, isn't it?

Her granddaughter is graduating high school next week-end, and she made this lovely "film" quilt for her. What a wonderful surprise it will be! The pictures she chose to print on fabric are of her granddaughter, friends, family, and special buddy. That buddy came to check things out today. Adorable!

Karleen calls these the peacock quilts, because the prints are peacock themed. They were stitched by one of her friends and quilted by one of our guilt members. Both of these quilts are gifts for an upcoming family reunion. Someone sure will be lucky to receive them!

Louise is the first in our guild to complete this year's Mystery Quilt. It is gorgeous!

And we had a little visitor today named Joaquin. He kept himself entertained by playing Minecraft on his iPad while his mother cut out quilt blocks.

As is customary, we all looked forward to potluck and all the yummy foods that people brought. The conversation was just as good. My tea thermos came with me today, filled with Yorkshire tea. It was a good day.

BOM's for Charity

BOM's for Charity is a project that our quilt guild has been working on over the past year. We meet monthly to sew and quilt. Karleen and I coordinated a monthly "block of the month" project, giving instructions for a different designed block for each month of the year. Guild members stitched two of each block; one to keep and one to donate for charity quilts. Some had so much fun sewing them that they stitched more than their assigned "one". 

At the end of the year we had a drawing for project participants. The winner won a gift basket that we filled with homemade items, gadgets, pretty things, and quilters tools.

We had enough blocks for 12-plus quilts. But, of course all those blocks needed to be stitched together into quilt tops and then quilted and bound. The group decided that we should meet for an extra sewing day each month and dedicate that day to working on our charity quilts.

It has been so much fun! We start bright and early. There's a lot of chatting happening as we sew. The production line plan has worked well. We break for sack lunches and ice cream, and then get right back to work.

Each quilt will be large enough for a double-sized bed. And everything is made from scraps donated by guild members. Thus, each quilt is different and has a characteristic all its own.

Here's an example of one quilt top that's made up of some of the "extra" blocks. I think this one is my favorite!

And this is an example of a BOM or "block of the month" quilt that represents each month of the year. This shows what the other 10-plus look like.

The quilts will be given to individuals in our community who are ill, homeless, or victims of a house fire. The guild members are generous and give freely from their hearts. I am most blessed to know them!

Lessons from Quilting

The local quilt guild ladies have been busy! Each month they continue to share their beautiful projects at our guild sewing sessions.

Additionally, they participated willingly in a "block of the month" project last year, stitching a block each month to donate to a communal project. By the end of the year, there were enough blocks donated to put together twelve quilts for charity. 

It was decided that there were not enough hours during our monthly sewing session to get the charity quilts done fast enough, so we decided to add another monthly sewing session to our calendars. The additional sewing session is for sewing community donor quilts only.

It's amazing what a few people can accomplish during a morning of sewing. A production line was set up and everyone got to work.

Friendly chatter accompanied the whir of the sewing machines.

We took a break for lunch and ice cream, and then got back to work. In the end we accomplished much.

The quilts are not finished yet, but progress has been made. I'll be sure to show you pictures when the projects are done. Our club quilts are given to people in our rural community who are in need. They go to homeless students, victims of fire, and individuals who are sick. It feels good to give from the heart. What a gracious group of ladies. I have been blessed by observing their generosity.

Happy as Kings

March is blowing in with its usual force. It's blustery weather outside! The wind chimes go from moments of quiet to a full jingle of tinkling and noise! A little bit is serene. Too much is annoying! It does keep one aware of the blustery conditions, though. Clouds cover the sky. The sun shows its merry face occasionally. And we wait for spring. In addition to the yellow crocus and the white snowdrops, the purple crocus has burst into bloom. But walks around the yard reveal a slow pace for many other signs of spring. Even the lawn is still brown and dreary. Inside, though, it is cozy and bright. They say it is too early to prune the rose bushes, so a day of cutting quilt blocks is in store instead. Like Sudo, the grand-puppy, I think I'll cozy up to the warm fire during quilting breaks, pour myself a cup of tea, and be happy as a king! Happy Monday!

Opening Shut-up Hearts Freely

I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.

Charles Dickens

Quilt Guild & Teapot

This month I am hosting the traveling teapot, a project where like-minded women  host a teapot for a month and share of its adventures. The traveling teapot has been on the road for fourteen months now. So many have blogged about the teapots adventures. I invite you to meander over to that blog today and catch up on some of the interesting things the teapot has been doing. Below is the post I wrote for the Traveling Teapot blog today.

The little plum teapot went to Sassy Quilters guild meeting at the Grange Hall today. It was a busy sewing day, and the teapot did a good job as ambassador of tea.

The guild makes dozens of quilts for charity and gives them away to people in the community who are facing illness or who've experienced loss by fire. The guild recently gave four quilts to members of a family whose house burned down. Realizing that the quilt reserves were low, it was decided that we'd concentrate on building up the stash again. Someone had donated batik fabric to the guild, so it was decided to use it to make charity quilts.

The process is interesting, as these are truly scrappy quilts. Complementary prints were paired and stitched into 4-squares. Then, they were laid out on the floor and the ladies designed on the fly! Two queen-size quilt tops were completed in this fashion today.

Someone had also donated Sunbonnet Sue quilt blocks to the guild and Louise took them home last month. She brought them back today, stitched into two pretty baby quilts. They will go into the donor stash for charity.

And the Quilt of the Month blocks are steadily increasing as well. This month fifteen were added to the stash. So far we have enough for six charity quilts and we are only half-way through the year. By the end of December we are hoping for enough blocks to make a dozen or more charity quilts. Each month guild members are given a pattern for that months block. It is always fun and interesting to see what color and pattern combinations they create. Each seems to express the personality of each individual so well.

Lunchtime is always potluck. Today's theme was salads and the traveling teapot's story was told around the luncheon table. The tea today was Darjeeling.

I captured Beulah going through line. She is the gracious hostess of each month's business meeting where she always has snacks for the group. She also makes delicious cinnamon chip scones for each month's sewing day and potluck luncheon. Everyone loves her tradition!

Today they went so well with tea!

The little plum teapot today served a group of ladies who have inculcated altruism and exhibit it so well. They have learned that it really is more blessed to give than to receive. I'm so glad the teapot was able to serve them today.