Showing posts with label Antique Quilts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antique Quilts. Show all posts

April 24, 2021

Linda's Antique 9 Patch Variation Quilt

By    7:08 AM // 2 comments

 Last fall, my customer Linda, had contacted me to request my basting service for 3 quilts she planned to hand quilt.  Though I don't get these types of requests often, it is another service I offer.  Two of the quilts were smaller pieces and the third was an antique quilt she purchased at the Sisters Quilt show many years ago.  I was able to complete the basting fairly quickly and she picked them up when she dropped off her  Brown and Black Diamonds quilt. 

A couple of weeks later, when I called her to tell her that the Brown and Black Diamonds quilt was finished and ready to be picked up, she asked if I'd be able to quilt the antique quilt as she was struggling to hand quilt the smaller quilts and decided that she wouldn't be able to get the larger antique quilt done.  The arthritis in her hands was giving her trouble and she just wanted to get the antique quilt done so she could use it.  I advised her that all of the basting stitches would need to be removed so that I could reload everything separately on my frame so she worked on that in the evenings and it was brought back to me when she pick up the other quilt.

Here it is all finished.

 

She isn't sure how old this top is but she guessed that it would be almost 100 years old.

I was drawn to the block design and am thinking about recreating it someday.  I don't think I've ever seen this block before but if you have, please let me know.
 
The original piecer used a huge variety of fabrics and I have to tell you that, for being entirely hand pieced, her workmanship was outstanding. Quilters Dream 80/20 batting was used, So Fine 504 Silver Screen was used on the top and So Fine 411 Black was in the bobbin.
 
I'm assuming that the majority of the fabrics used for the Nine Patches came from clothing.  The White and Black polka dot print and the Blue dot print were both of thinner weights but the White was a bit more of a lighter weave.  I know very little about dating fabrics in old quilts but these were definitely thinner than the fabrics in the antique quilt that I have.
There's even a signed block.  We're guessing that Aunt Harriet was the quilt maker but who knows for sure.  The blocks actually could have been constructed by a lot of different ladies.
Here you can see more of the variety of prints used in the construction.
Linda requested a basic simple meander to keep the stitching light and simple.
It suited the quilt nicely and Linda was very happy with the result.
When she picked this one up, Linda brought me another antique quilt top that she wants quilted.  It's all Bow Tie blocks and together we're contemplating possible stitching designs to find the best one to make the piecing shine.  I can't wait to stitch it and then to share it with you.  Stay tuned.



February 19, 2013

Barbara's Whirling Star

By    5:39 AM // 13 comments
Barbara lived across the street from my Mom on Court Avenue. From the day my mom moved in, she was almost an instant member of our extended family. Her two kids were already grown and moved away. Mom used to make extra and take dinner over more days than not and she was just like another grandma in our family. She really enjoyed attending the special family events. Here she is at my baby shower before we traveled to Vietnam to bring Jammer home in 2007.
Barbara was born in 1922 and she and her husband bought the house across from Mom in 1950 (mom didn't live there then). She lived in that house the rest of her life. She passed away in the spring of 2009 at the age of 87. Mom helped her kids and grand kids sort through all the accumulation of her life and the 59 years in that house. There was a lot of stuff. Knowing that one day we'd be bringing a baby girl home, they offered to us the dresser that used to be her son's when he was young. This is what it looked like when we acquired it.
It was painted and the knobs that I purchased that matched her bedding set were added and today it looks like this.
I'm sure you are all wondering just why I am telling you all of this. Well when we went to view and pick up the dresser, I saw a couple of great handmade quilts on one of the upstairs beds. I didn't get a chance to get a really good look at them but I knew instantly they were wonderful. I told her family that they were true heirlooms to be kept in the family but if after all is said and done, if no one in her family wanted them that I definitely would. Not everyone would be able to appreciate them and I certainly didn't want them to just be given away to someone that wouldn't understand. I was truly surprised when I got the call that they were mine. Mom picked them up and eventually she brought one to me. Why only one? Well she kept the other quilt for herself! Sneak. Oh well, it too will be mine one day.

So here is the one that I have now and want to share with you today. I found the block listed in Jenny Beyer's The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns. It is called Whirling Star and it was published in the Detroit Free Press in February 1936.
Mom and I have been trying to date this quilt. Barbara was just 14 when the pattern was published and while she certainly could have started this quilt then we don't think it is likely. She and her husband did live in the Detroit area in the early years but that is all we know at the moment. I hope to be able to find out more some day from her son or her daughter. Each block was hand pieced from a great collection of 1930s prints and some that look a tad bit older to me.
They certainly aren't perfect and that makes it all the more special to me...thinking about her stitching each piece by hand.
The background is muslin I believe.
The sashing is actually one strip but her hand quilting makes it look like two strips. The blocks were all outlined but there isn't any quilting on the backgrounds.
Here is a view from the back. Again muslin was used for the backing and whatever she used for batting is very thin.
It is cool the way you can see the shadows of the front blocks through the back.
I just love the way the quilting shows on the back and the crinkly from it being washed and loved.
I've been using this quilt on my side of the bed recently during the really downright brutally cold nights we've been having lately. I can't stand to be cold while I sleep and hubs always runs warmer than I do. I blame my thyroid. I cherish this antique quilt and all the hours and hours of work that went into it. No matter what the age, it is in perfect condition. Rest assured that it will remain in my family forever, to enjoy as a quilt should be and to always remember a very special lady that I am glad to have known, if only for a while.
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