Old Quilts, Maverick Methods....

Revisiting the Bow Tie quilt top of a few days ago, I wondered...did you happen to notice that some of the bowties are against a dark background? Unless you study the top a bit, it's not something that you notice right away. Or maybe, for you, it is....but not me. I seem to have this 'oblivious' side to my vision.
While taking pictures, I suddenly noticed that 'things' are reversed on this block...why did she use the dark for the background? Hmmmmm? So I began to look closer.
And there are quite a few blocks where the background is stronger than the bow tie itself...not what we normally do when piecing a bow tie. But it's not unattractive, is it?
I wonder if perhaps she was down to the last scraps in her scrapbag and needed a few more bow ties? Or maybe she was as maverick as we'd all like to be, as unihibited and spontaneous. The top is not technically well made, but I find it delighful in it's coloration and scrappiness. And no doubt it was a warm cover for someone. I felt this old beauty deserved another 'look - see', so we can all notice the strange blocks with the dark backgrounds *VBS*. I hope to baste it soon, but for now,I'm off to the garage(the weather is fairly mild..finally!) to tie a quilt.Someone had commented that they saw snowballs, not bow ties when they looked at it. There aren't as many lay-outs for the bow tie blocks as for some others. This particular one, where they form the snowball shape is called Love Rings. When you see a solid center in that octagon shape, and it has triangles sewn on the four corners, then it's a snowball *VBS*

Picking up the pieces, cleaning up the mess....

BUT.....about that youngest grandson(who is sooo much like his Daddy!) the little gal in this picture(his step-mom-to-be)snapped that memorable picture on Saturday...LOL And why did he look soooo disagreeable? Well, that was the 4th or 5th "take".
He has a trick of looking at the camera, and just as you snap the picture, he looks away...so, they take another, and another, etc. He gets pretty tired of it!!! LOL I couldn't resist showing it to you...*VBS* At 4, he has A LOT of opinions!
This is one of the older "used" tops in my collection. I love Bow Tie as a quilt pattern,buying them whenever I come across them(if I can). This was a tied quilt, that seemed unusually heavy to me.. It held up quite well to the wear and tear of the years, and I could have just left it as it was. But I snipped the yarn tied and pulled them out, wanting to 'rescue' the top and hand quilt it. What was inside was a very thin old quilt. Since it was crumbling into shreds, I discarded it, but saved the backing.
The blocks are machine pieced, with many stitches per inch. That makes repairs MUCH harder. I was talking with someone that was replacing(or thinking of) black that was in shreds. In this quilt top, the only fabric that is disintrigating in this one. Not the check bow tie, but the background with the lavender and narrow black stripe. It's the narrow black lines that are turning to dust in my fingers. Soooo, one by one, I've been replacing the background on those blocks. This is a "before" picture, one I haven't done as yet.And this is an "after" picture. I'm lucky enough to have a large, large collection of vintage fabric dating back to the mid 1800's. I don't have alot of shirtings, and if I come across a child's shirt with handmade button holes(this tan background was one of those) I buy it and use it for repairs in old quilts. It'a a slow process to pick out the tiny, tiny treadle stitches, but it can be done. I carefully iron one of the removed pieces, and check it against one of the bow tie segments, before I cut the replacement background. I hand stitch the new backgrounds into place, the same way you'd piece the traditional bow tie block. A careful pressing and it's good as new.
I have about 4 more backgrounds to replace and then I can baste this top with a very light weight batt and hand quilt it. It's a very thin top due to the fabrics that were used. Mostly summer dress or shirt weight cottons. But I love it, and I love the vintage look of it. That means I think it's worth the time to hand quilt it...*VBS*

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.

Come out and play....

the grass is cool and perfect for rolling on....time to dream a little dream of summertime and daisy chains...*VBS* Today's message compliments of Finn & Friends. Regarding the fabrics in

yesterdays post, the jury isn't hung, nor is it out. Trouble is, I'm still on the wall about this one. We have...ahemmmm...drum roll please: 10 votes for the leafy red; 7 votes for the dusty blue; 4 undecided/whatever; and 5 in favor or more shopping.

And when I read the comments(which were really very helpful) I can see that it both goes and doesn't go...with either fabric. So probably the best thing to do, is shelf them for abit longer and keep looking for the perfect-doesn't-overwhelm-nor-fade-away fabric. It'll be rought but I'll do it....bravely! And if this wasn't complicated enough....LOL...guess what I found last night??? Yup, another package from the Aunt in KC. It contains 130 6" bow tie blocks, and they are pieced from pretty much the same fabrics! I laid some of the bow tie blocks out with the 9 patches in between, but I can't say it does much for me, visually. I'm beginning to have a pretty good idea why they have lanquished since the 1930's and 40's and why they made their way up north to me...*G*. Yup, she probably like color in her quilts also....imagine that???

Oh 'dem old blocks....

and tired & weary is how they look. Strange since they are from new fabric, and have never been used, nor washed...LOL. This is how they appear in real life. The second pi picture is what my Photo Expert does if I hit 'quick fix'. I must say, I like it better, but they aren't that bright. The second and third picture are of the same blocks!! I thought it would be most effective to stick the color enhancement in the middle..LOL. Bear with me, it's been a long day in the garage. Sorting, purging and carrying boxes....and....I've lost the remote somewhere between my recliner and the dining room table, and my eyes hurt.
Not much stitching done last night or today, tried to embroider for awhile, sitting outside with Ebby, but my eye wasn't co-operating. Luckily it's just a big, white dishtowel, and quite forgiving. I put the rusty blocks to soak, but warm water and soap only removes the years of grime. I wonder if Oxy Clean might touch that rust?? Worth a try on the worst one. That one actually has a hole where the rust stain is the most intense...it probably can't be used except as 'parts'. I haven't decided how to set them, but I'm leaning towards on-point. If I use a setting block, what color can I possible use with these things??? A shirting maybe? Almost would have to look tea dyed. Suggestions welcome!
Tomorrow is a 'run' day for me. The car is getting serviced early, and I have a load of stuff to drop off for Jean. Then I'm heading to Stillwater, MN to have lunch and shop with the DD#1, My Princess *VBS*. There are a few art supplies I need from Michael's, and I understand there is a nice quilt shop in Stillwater, so I'll look for that also.
Another quilt from Patti is up at Orphan Train blog, and I have Sio's permission to use her photo of the finished Maverick(or Orphan block) quilt. She says she has another she'll be sharing on her blog soon. You can find her at http://scrapsandthreadtales.blogspot.com/

Endings and Beginnings...

Mark the calendar, I finally got the binding done on my Gee's Bend Wanna Be quilt. It's not a big deal, I know, but right now, every 'finish' is a victory in the ongoing vision battle! This was a playtime project while on a previous retreat. Betsy had been sewing up dozens of string type blocks, and I got to play in her strips plus a few of mine. Gee's Bend quilts were the BIG thing in the news, so I figured "what the heck?" and went to town. I'm happy with the results and have another Gee's Bend type 'thingy' floating around in my head.
In the mean time, here's a look at the utility quilting, what there is of it..LOL. Nothing much shows up again the strips(might just be my vision) so I used #5 perle cotton, slow going as it's thick to pull through. I'm not sure there is enough quilting, but as I said, I've had a hard time with this one for a couple of years now, and it's NOT big. While binding it, I realized that I could mark additional quilting lines on the light backing and quilt from back there. I've never bound before and then quilted, but what the heck....LOL. I know some of you gals do that, so I'm giving it a try. I spent two or three very busy hours out in the garage this afternoon, and really wore myself out. But I got a ton of stuff sorted, some for DD, some for friends and
some for donating. I consolidated the box of small batting pieces onto the larger batting pieces box and elimated one box. Some stuff put on shelves, their new permanent home...at last! And I hauled some things into the house that I must find a place for. More is going than what is staying, and that's good.
And I came across a 'treasure from the past' that I had forgotten I had. Imagine that? Long, long ago my elderly Aunt in KC sent me a package of 9 patches, made from scraps of shirting. She had worked in a shirting factory(in Chicago) in the 1930's and 40's. I had asked her for the handpieced Bow Tie blocks she had pieced to make my Dad a quilt. Instead she sent these 9 patches. How I can nicely say that instead of grateful I was disappointe?.....really disappointed. It would have meant alot to me to finish up the bow ties and make the quilt she never got made for her brother. So that plastic bag of blocks got dropped into a box of 'stuff', and has been there ever since. Dad has been gone since 1990. I was really surprised to find them today. I figured I owed it to the blocks, so
long neglected to do something with them. In the 'love them' department, I could quite happily pass them along to one of you. But since they are family, I'll hang onto them, I guess. I came in the house(tired for sure) and sat down and counted them. Most are hand pieced, a few are done on a treadle machine. I have 96 that are useable the way they are(with washing, drying and pressing) and 6 with some staining. It looks like it might be a rust stain that seeped upwards or downwards, getting lighter with each layer. I'm not sure if it will come out or now, but I'll give it a try. I can work with the 96 if the others don't clean up. Here is quick snap shot of them, and I used
a color enhance. They really aren't that bright. I'll do more pics tomorrow, and show you how they look naturally. All in all they are quite well done. No seams opening, quite square, with well matched seams.
I'm undecided about how to set them, and would appreciate any advice, block to block??? I'm thinking about maybe doing it by hand...which sounds a bit foolish even to me, but also sounds very appealing. Maybe just reaching into the basket, and join up whatever two I pull out??? I think they are 6.5" blocks, meaning it won't be a big quilt one way or the other.

To See The World in a Grain of Sand....

and in my mind, that would be with the simplicity of childhood....endless possibility, unlimited time. I spoke yesterday of being drawn to things of 'age'...*VBS* And it should be no surprise that over the years, the library book sale holds treasures that are unavailable elsewhere. I came across this raggety-taggity book like that. It takes a neo-second to pick-up on the 1930 'flavor'. The cover alone would have been a wonderful find. A Scarlet Tannenger...a bird wehave in WI in abundance. My first thought, check the publication date. This one was published, and dedicated to School Art teachers across America, in 1930. The first page holds new treasures... Seasonal Classroom Suggestions...Planned to Develop Appreciation and to Cultivate Taste. Too bad some of
our politicians weren't in grade school at that time...*VBS* As a nation, we could use some sign of 'Appreciation and Taste' from them.
The book progresses as you would expect. Some general instruction for working with the ideas, and then things to make from construction paper and doilies for St. Valentine's Day. And on through the year. In months with no specific holiday, are ideas for making stencils, repeating motifs, and such. The black line

drawings are as delightful as you'd ever want to see. If you are a admirer of the 'look' of the 1930-40's, just a little older than the Sunbonnet Sue drawings. I love the bunnies, there are several pages of bunnies, chicks and baby ducks. Cards to make for Easter, name place cards, etc.
And these adorable Dutch book ends made from cardboard. The instuctions are very complete, including tips on how to paint or finish the 'look'. Pages and pages of vintage Halloween cats and jack-o-lanterns....and on through Christmas.
There are great folded paper baskets(from a single sheet of construction paper) for May Day or perhaps Mother's Day. Even daffodil and iris drawings that the student might use for a reference, or inspiration.
Art was the key that turned the lock in the door to fantasy-land. A place I could and would lose myself without leaving home. I have no awareness of how 'idea' books change for the teachers of childhood art. I was lucky, Art was taught all through grade school. Every month, our classroom teacher would have a selected set of project for us to do in Art Time. Snowflakes, autumn leaves, bright red apples...you know the calender...LOL Art all but disappeared in Jr. High. We had 7th,8th and 9th in a seperate school(junior high, which is now call Middle School). No art until 9th grade...I was devistated. I still have one crayon etching that I had done in 9th grade, way back then...*S* It's not a particular good drawing, on it's 8 X 11" paper, but it speaks to me, and more than 50 years later, I have it. Very little of my early art work exists. A few drawing from college, a couple of paintings no etching or prints. I never did ceramics, fiber or weaving.
I'm extremely visual, and not ashamed to be that....I don't always see detail well, but the picture my mind takes supplies what I need. Oddly, in verbal and written matters, I am a detail person...must have been a survial skill. I can quote you chapter and verse of what you "said" and what "I said", etc. I love words.
It's another strange posting, I know. I'm deep, deep, deep into the sorting, purging and organizing of my life, and sewing is on the back burner. I quilted on my fans, they are coming slowly. I need to make it back into the " curvy" groove. Ans I did a bit of straight line quilting on a psuedo "Gee's Bend" kind of thingy. It's fun and happy and has nothing to do with anything. I'll show you soon, I'm almost to the binding...maybe tomorrow!

A butterfly quilt?

Saturday, Oct.22nd...sunny but cold here in WI. These pieced butterflies were a calender page a number of years back. Since it's done with vintage fabric, and scrap, of course, I LOVE THEM! So I saved the picture, and began a search for the pattern. Most butterfly patterns you come across are for appliqued butterflies. . A few years after I saved the picture, a gal I know saw it on my wall and said "I have that pattern"..and she did, and she made me a copy !! It turns out its from the Collection of Ruby Hinson Duncan. It was first printed in the Comfort Magazine in the 1930's. It has been a popular pattern ever since. I counted and there are 24 pieces..many of them cut reversed.

My friend found it republished in the May/June issue of STITCH'N'SEW QUILTS in 1988. I am hoping to begin picking fabrics for it this weekend, while gathers nickle squares for another stitching/blogger friend..*VBS* It is identified as Pieced Butterfly #1408 and is for a 10" block.

The Littlest pieces..

How small is too small????? I'm still chuckling as I think about what I just read over on Bonnie's blog, Quiltville's Q & Q. Bonnie has posted some "crumb creations", and remarked that "smaller than 1.5"?..she tosses. Tonya responded to that, challenging Bonnie..oh my Tonya..are you prepared for what the snail mail could bring you???

But it got me thinking..how small is too small ? I used to think that anything smaller than an inch was pointless because if you took the 2 seam allowances from that you'd have hardly anything. I have made one log cabin from 1" strips. Trust me, by the time I had 16 blocks, I was ready to be DONE. So less than 1" and you'd have almost nothing showing..case settled.

BUT..then I began playing with vintage scraps and old feedsack trimmings..*VBG*. Yup, you guessed it..some of them were smaller than 1". And what I discovered is that if you love the fabric and want to preserve it, have it, see it in a quilt(of sorts) you just take less than the quarter inch seam. And it works. I'm not advocating seams that narrow on quilts that will see frequent use and daily wear and tear. But on small quilts, no reason not to use those "crumbs" and have as much showing as possible. So I taped a few crumbs onto a sheet of paper and measured them..see amounts above. And then there is the little muslin foundation "kitty"..his finished ears will be one fourth inch..so a crumb will work fine for that...hmmmmmm. And how can I throw away ANY tiny piece of vintage polka dots...? I can't..*G*

So Quilters Of The World...how small is too small.....?? Answer please.........................