Monday, October 01, 2007

Happy October Everyone!!!

And like the wizard I am, just when you thought I had shown you ALL my quilts....I have one left to show you....last one(I think!) This is one I bought in Galena, Ill back in the 1980's. I'm pretty sure it's a 'kit' quilt from somewhere between the the 1930's and the 1950's. I'm sure some of you more familiar with quilt periods will know. The blocks are 16" each.

A close up of the poppies and the enbroidery which plays a big part in this quilt. The entire quilt is really quite well done, altho I suspect NOT by an expert or very experienced quilter.
It's backed with the same orange as what was used in the one poppy. There is a narrow border of the lighter orange, and a narrow border of the darker orange. Then it's bound in the lighter of the two. It creates a nice contrast to all the muslin.Here's a close up of the design that was quilted into the open white spaces where the blocks come together. The poppies are button hole stitched down, with the stitches being at about 1/8" apart, very even and consistant. They are also quilted around 'in the ditch', as are each of the seed pods. Lots and lots of stitching and quilting on this quilt!!!
The quilting is beautiful, and who ever made it, certainly was GOOD with a needle. It has never been washed, and you can see very faint pencil lines on the muslin where she drew the designs. It is yellowing, and I do toy with washing it. Thanks to great products like the Color Catcher sheets, I know it's safe to do that.
Do you remember I mentioned at the beginning that I felt the quilt was NOT made by an expert or experienced quilter? And you wonder what I would base that on? *VBS* Something that gave me quite a chuckle when I was examining the quilt in the antique shop......on the back side....looking close, the KNOTS are not pulled in to the backing. And we all know that is one of the first things you learn in hand quilting. The gentle 'tug' that buries the knot into the back and batting....or maybe you learned to 'tuck' and quilt in both ends of the tread? Either way....we definitely DON'T just leave the knots showing on the back....LOL But it makes it all the dearer to me...*VBS* And you probably will admit, not everyone could LOVE an orange quilt.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

OOOOH, I like that quilt and the story that goes with it.

Annie
: )

Anonymous said...

Love this - love the orange, especially!

Colleen formerly of South Africa said...

Finn, thanks for the wonderful comments on my blog..and I did do the Me-me for you.Thanks for that. I think your collected quilt is very unique. Love the orange.Colleen

Donna said...

your teddy bear ghost as your profile picture is wonderfully fun! :-)

Barbara C said...

What a beauty. For a long time I thought I needed to make a poppy quilt, but after awhile the urge passed. Seeing this one inspires me again. I love the colors and the embroidery.

Jeanne said...

Wonderful quilt, Finn. At first glance I thought they were pumpkins as I noticed Mr. Spooky on the right. VBG It's great when you have a story to go with the quilt, isn't it?

Holly said...

What a beautiful quilt, Finn. I love the orange and embroidery/stitchery.

atet said...

What a fantastic quilt. I love the vibrant oranges and the embroidery! What a great find!

Tonya Ricucci said...

Now, now. I refused to pull the knots through into the batting long after I knew I was "supposed" to. It's only within the last 5 years that I've started doing it myself. Maybe the quilter was just a rebel. Fun quilt though, I love the embroidery. Great ghost bear - boo!

meggie said...

I just fell in love with it. I suspect it is the Poppies, but also the wonderful stitchery, & quilting. I LOVE slapping the quilt police in the face!!!

loulee said...

Oh My, that one is lovely.

My Hunney is tickled by your halloween bear! He's amazed, says he's never seen a bear treaded in such a way. I tried to explain that even bears have a sense of humour, but he won't believe me! ROTF

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

Great quilt, great story too. My BIL and SIL live in Galena and I adore all the fab. antique shops there when we go to visit. My daughter loves orange, she went to Auburn University and now that color flows in her veins! We love to tease her about that... I began a quilt for her to take to college over the summer before she began her freshman year. She thought it was much too orange and balked at taking it along with her when she first left home. It wasn't but a few weeks later when she phoned home, begging me to send it, in all it's orange glory! Your orange quilt is glorious.

Clare said...

Cough - sometimes I pull the knots through, sometimes I don't, but I'm only a novice so what do I know about these things (and self-taught at that!) VVBS. Seriously, it is a beautiful quilt, despite the knots and the colour.

Gosh Teddy Ghost made me jump.

Unknown said...

Finn I think it's gorgeous - thank you so much for sharing it - I'm rather partial to poppies and it's set some ideas going in my head

julieQ said...

Beautiful quilt!! I love the individual touches on this kit quilt. I pull the knots through, but am not consistent...this is for fun after all, and the quilt police have not found me yet!! Thank you for you generosity of spirit, Finn..

JulieQ

Anonymous said...

Beautiful story,
Gorgeous quilt,
and certainly...
sweet dreams, under it !
LUCKY FINN !

Hugs & smiles to you, dear !
NADINE
(who answered your Tag on her Blog)

Quilts And Pieces said...

Wow that is a pretty unusual quilt! Cool!

Marilyn Robertson said...

What a beautiful quilt! I have two quilts that my Great Grandmother made. The first one is beautifully quilted and the knots were pulled through to the batting. The second one was made toward the end of her quilting time. She didn't bother with pulling the knots through and her stitches weren't as even. I may like the second one even more then the first! It makes me feel like she was one spunky lady.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Well, I love that orange quilt!. Those big bright poppies just make me smile.
Thanks for popping by the WhistleStop Cafe! I'll be back to see what's new in your basket.

Libby said...

And a very Happy October to you, too *s* What a lovely quilt - and a lucky one, too, to have found a special home with you.
I had to chuckle over the knots - my first quilt is the same . . . I had no idea there was a nice, neat way to deal with them. Of course, I 'quilted' with my piece VERY tight in my embroidery hoop - stab stitching my way to the end. Boy am I glad I found some classes to get me over that struggle. Quilting wasn't much fun on the first couple of project *s*