mini museum finds

there is a small historical society housed in an old elementary school in a neighboring town that advertises a quilt show every spring. it runs from march - may, and my 4th daughter and i always express interest in it but never manage to go. the restaurant where our family has birthday breakfasts on each family member's birthday is just down the street from the little museum and since we have 3 birthdays during those months, we drive by it a few times during the quilt show each year. every time we do, d4 says, "mom! the quilt show is on again. we really need to go this year." and somehow we never do.

a few weeks ago on a saturday morning i randomly decided to make the drive over with d4. it's a good thing we did because when we got there we found out it was the very last day of the show for this year! apparently "march - may" doesn't "1st of march to may 31st."

we found all kinds of quilts and tops on display, some for sale and auction. anyone at all from the community is welcome to display in the show. we grabbed a glove for quilt handling and map of the rooms, then set off to look around.

in one room we found a group of quilters working on handquilting some vintage wips. apparently the historical society has a quilter's group who meets together several days a week to piece and handquilt for anyone who needs help. people bring in their heirloom pieces to have them finished off. i was so enchanted by the idea of these ladies sitting and working together, old school bee-style. they invited me to come whenever i can. maybe someday i will find the time?

on this particular day they were handquilting a vintage grandma's flower garden quilt made by this lady's mother in the 1980's from the family's old clothes. as we talked about the quilt, she began pointing out various fabrics and telling what items of clothing they came from that she could remember from her childhood in the 60's through college years.

the fact that this quilt was all handpieced rather blew my mind!

i was particularly drawn to this combination of citrusy colors.

after watching them at work and chatting with the ladies for a bit, we moved on to see what was on display. my daughter loved every single quilt she saw and wanted to buy anything that was for sale. she was so enthusiastic about the whole thing. i told her we had plenty enough quilts and fabric at home, so we were just going to look and enjoy.

most of the quilts were not made with fabrics i'd choose or did not fit my personal aesthetic, but i did thoroughly enjoy just wandering and looking at what other quilters had done. i find i can almost always see some aspect of the piece that i like or can admire, even if it's not something i'd make or want to own personally.

i thought this handprint quilt was about the coolest signature quilt i'd every seen. i wasn't crazy about the choices of fabric for the hands themselves, but i did like the low-volume background. having not only the signatures of the the participants but their handprints as well was an idea that really appealed to me. it would be great to make for a grandmother or as a family heirloom.

someone had made these wallhangings with some sweet quilters' quotes on them. very cute sentiments.

this dresen plate quilt top kind of rocked my world, not because i loved the fabric selections, which do have a certain vintage vibe to them, but because of it's imprecise piecing. as i looked at it, i was struck with how wonderful it was despite of, or even because of, the wonky shapes. it was so charming! and i could just imagine a family member receiving this quilt and not caring a hoot about the flat-sided circle or irregular blades as they were cuddled up in great-grandma's virtual hug. they would love it just because of who had made it.

something about this quilt emotionally overpowered me with the appreciation for it's imperfection. it made me realize that when we make out of love and gift out of love, we will always be given the grace of our loved one's appreciation for us rather than criticism over the imperfections. it was a lovely feeling. maybe this was one top i should have considered purchasing.

there were so many fun fabrics to peruse in the various vintage pieces on offer. i'm always amazed at what looks modern but is actually quite old in some of the quilts.

this strings quilt was so colorful and had a ton of interesting pieces in it. just look at those greyhounds- so unusual and unexpected. i liked how that ultra-bright yellow floral was used throughout the quilt to tie it all together. it was an unusual yet effective choice against the other colors in the quilt. the vibrant colors and scrappy vibe reminded me of something rachel at stitched in color would make.

this trip around the world was chock full of the tiniest little squares - all handpieced! amazing. if you look in the top right corner, you can see my daughter's gloved finger in the photo for scale. the squares were 1" or less.

this variation of a drunkard's path block really appealed to me, especially because of all the washed out reds in it. so cute!

take a look at these hexis - they are all vintage fabrics, but many of them look straight out of a denyse schmidt collection, don't you think? the plaids especially remind me of her work, which is of course always vintage inspired.

"i done my best."
enough said.

a zoomed out look at some of the pieces on display for sale, including that dresden plate i loved so much.

now that we've been once, we will definitely make the show again next year!
maybe we'll even contribute some pieces. who knows?
or maybe we'll decide to bring home a vintage top for ourselves next time.

show takeaway:

1. if you're a quilter, go to any and all shows. you'll find something to admire no matter what.

2. quit fussing about precision, particularity when you are making for loved ones. they'll love whatever you can manage.

and i must say, after looking at lots of different handpiecing and handquilting, i'm actually feeling pretty chuffed about my own handquilting. it may not be perfect, but it's pretty good after all.

penny patch 2.0 - school pennies, a finish

if you think the photo quality on this blog has plummeted, i would agree with you! each of the last few times i've needed to take photos of a quilt finish, i have been rushed, the lighting has been impossible, and my camera has malfunctioned. one of the reasons i blog is because i do enjoy quality photos of my quilting life and the items i make. this is such a disappointment to me, but it is what it is, as my husband would say.

the day i put the final stitches into penny patch 2.0 was a broiling hot september afternoon, somewhere in the 110+F region. the sun was merciless and the only acceptable place to photograph anything was a few meager feet of shade on the backside of my sister's house, where my mom was staying. marmee had just jumped out of the shower, so i didn't give her much notice, either. she was only in town briefly, and it had to be done. seize the moment and the less-than-stellar photos while you can, right?

this particular quilt was originally started for myself in late 2014. i came up with the color scheme while working on my first penny patch. it was an unusual palette pick for me - no red but rather magenta, which has long not been my color preference. however, i was in love with the joel dewberry floral i used as the focal fabric and backing pick. so, magenta, teals, turquoise, chartreuse, pink, and a healthy dose of white it was.

the fabrics were a collection of pretty florals, ditsy geometrics, and text prints that all reminded me of back-to-school times. my mother always sewed our dresses when i was a child, and the first day of school outfit was a big deal. the florals reminded me of picking out those dresses. all the alphabets were another nod to school, especially the cursive on school paper print. the pattern name, penny patch, with it's small change, made me think of the quarter mom would give me for milk money so i could get a carton of fresh milk with my home-packed lunch. thus, the name evolved to be "school pennies."

i had a few bumps in the road of constructing this quilt - some literal, like when my kids knocked the design wall over with a kicked soccer ball, and some figurative, like when i sewed all the directional prints the wrong way and had to make the quilt larger to reorient it rather than unpick and resew everything. that drug the construction out pretty long. then the biggest bump of all - my husband fell off a wall. while he survived, my quilting life did not. everything was put away for months and months.

holding it sideways because it's so tall and we're so short

 during that time, my mother was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. she had always wanted one of my quilts, and i did have fabrics long put away for just that, but it didn't feel like there was enough time to start something new. the colors and fabrics were all perfect for my mom, something i hadn't considered before, but immediately recognized. i thought the quickest thing to do was quilt penny patch 2.0 and give it to her. well, i hadn't accurately considered how long a 72" x 84" quilt would take to quilt in 3" citrus peel blossoms. basically, forever.

in the end, it got done after about a year on and off the machine. then the binding gave me a bit of trouble when i was a yard short and had to hunt down more of the out-of-print fabric. honestly, in some ways you could say this quilt was payback for every silly, mean, or nasty thing i did as a child that my mother had to deal with.

marmee does have her quilt and well in time for another winter, when it will keep her cozy. i know she's going to enjoy contemplating and perusing all the fabric picks and combinations, as i do. this quilt is chock full of beautiful fabrics.

the even better news is marmee's cancer journey has gone much better than expected. we're approaching two years since the diagnosis and she's doing very well.

she tells me all the time how much she's enjoying the quilt.
honestly, i was quite attached to this one and choosing to give it to my mom was a painful choice.
of course, i'm glad i did.
it was really meant for her all along, i just didn't know it.

heirloom

most quilters can trace their love affair with quilting back to a specific quilt or quilter that enthralled them, grabbed their notice, and got them interested in this hobby or that they have an emotional attachment to. my roots in quilting go back to my childhood, to one particularly lovely pink patchwork star.

my mom made some whole-cloth, tied quilts at various points in my childhood, and i even helped her tie a few of them, but she never did any patchwork quilting. so the first patchwork quilt i ever met and loved was the pink texas lonestar quilt that resided on a bed at my grandmother margaret's house in my aunt catherine's former room. when i lived with my grandparents for 6 months as a 13 year old, this became my room and quilt for a while. i always loved seeing it when i visited. as a new bride in 1995, i was staying with my grandmother and noticed the pink lonestar was no longer on the bed in my room. she told me that, sadly, catherine had tried to machine wash the quilt and it now needed repairs, so she had removed it from the bed. at some point, catherine took the quilt in hopes of finding someone to fix it. i was quite disappointed. although i was not yet a quilter, i loved the quilt and had a deep love of family heirlooms. the pink lonestar would have been in my top 3 choices of items i would like to inherit.

last year i contacted aunt catherine and asked her if she could send me a photograph of the quilt because i wanted to try to recreate it. she said she'd hunt it down and send me a picture. the photo never came. however, when i realized our summer travels would be taking us close to my aunt, i asked her to get it out so i could photograph it myself when i visited her. i'll admit i was thinking of tactful ways i could convince her to let me take it home with me so i could get it repaired myself. and maybe keep it. there was no need for me to be devious. when i got to catherine's house and asked her about the quilt, she said, "it's in the front hall. i'm giving it to you." i honestly started crying on the spot. this quilt is the only heirloom quilt in my family that i know of or have ever seen. and now it's mine through my aunt's generosity.

  grandma margaret told me this was a wedding present from her aunts. as a war bride in 1945, i can only imagine what went into the making of this by her aunt(s). i've always thought she said her mother's sister(s) made it, but now i'm not so sure of my memory. anyway, this quilt that was about 40 years old when i first met it is now approximately 70 years old. and it's rather delicate. there is evident fading going on, but it's still in quite lovely condition.

 i don't remember this, but when aunt catherine gave it to me, the quilt came with two pieces: a quilt and a pillow sham. i don't know what else you call the sham exactly because it's not a pillowcase type sham like we have today. it's more of a half-quilt panel. but i'm pretty sure it's designed to cover the pillows. the cool thing about the sham is that it's not as worn or faded as the quilt, so you can see the original colors better. the fact that it's not faded and that i seem to remember using the quilt to cover the pillows when i used to sleep with this quilt, leads me to believe it wasn't on the bed. even the sham has some fading in the brightest pinks, which just don't seem to be colorfast.

here i laid the sham over the quilt to show the difference in the colors. there are anywhere from  4 to 7, possibly more, pinks used, but it's just too hard to say with the fading.

 even with all the fading and spots of damage, this is a stunning quilt. when i laid it out on my bed to photograph today, my three year old excitedly exclaimed, "it's PERfeh!" the sixteen year old was also quite taken aback by it's beauty when she walked in the room.

in light of what we consider "modern" vs. "traditional" in today's quilting world, and now that i know a little of quilt history, this quilt strikes me as not typical for the 1940's or at least not what most people would think of as typical. it is not a scrap quilt, apparently made from fabrics chosen specifically for this quilt rather than pieced together from reclaimed items. also, it's not made from prints - it's all solids. how very modern! and the bright, all-pink palette is definitely modern.

i think it just goes to show that the lines between modern and traditional are a lot blurrier than we think, that traditional quilters generations ago made some very "modern" pieces just like quilters of today can choose to make some very "traditional" quilts. really, even though there are trends in each age of quilting, there have always been quilters who quilt outside the lines of what is most common for their era. and maybe there is just a lot more variety in taste and style all along than we realized.

 at my grandmother's house, this quilt lay on a full-sized, brass framed bed. today i photographed it on my king-sized, aluminum framed bed. as much as i'd like it to stay on my bed, it's not suitable for everyday use anymore. but i think i just found the perfect place for it. more on that later because it's kind of a big deal and is going to take some work before i can get it in place.

peeking through the rips and fraying, the piecing seems to be done by machine, but the quilting was definitely done by hand. on the star, the quilting is stitch-in-the-ditch around the diamonds. these lines then continue into the negative space, where they are crossed by another set of lines to create more diamonds, with the four corner squares all being quilted in the same radiating direction. the four triangles formed between the points on each side of the quilt also were in a pattern, but after studying it i realized just one of them is not going in the same direction as the others. a little oops when in the making? probably. but it's not noticeable in the least unless you are trying to pick out the pattern.

 the backing is a solid pink, pieced together by at least two of the pinks from the front. i think the batting must be some kind of polyester or polyester blend because it's rather full and slightly puffy, and has kept it's shape all these years. it's not creased like a cotton batted quilt would be after so many years in folded storage. also, it's not extremely dense like a wool batting would be. i had no idea they had polyester batting in the 1940's but i guess they must have.  seeing how well the batting has worn over the years has given me pause to reconsider my own personal preference for 100% cotton battings.

the binding is the lightest pink of those used in the quilt. on close examination, i can tell it was machine sewn down and then turned to the back and attached by hand like we would do today.

however, it's not stitched on with a blind hem stitch but tacked down by small, rather uneven stitches every 1/4" or so. this imperfect detail, along with several other imperfect factors in the making of this quilt, remind me that quilts don't have to be perfectly crafted to be beautiful or loved, that the mistakes or small cover-ups for shortages will fade into the larger picture of the finished quilt. this gives me not only comfort about all the flaws in my own quilts, but makes me love this quilt even more.

i don't know how long i'll be able to preserve this particular quilt in good condition, but i'm immensely grateful to have it since it's the only quilt from my family's tree i've ever seen.

truly, it is a priceless heirloom.

i hope i can make enough quilts that my great grandchildren can all say they own or at least have seen something from their family's quilting roots. i hope i inspire lots more quilters and quilts to grow on that family tree in the years to come. maybe this little lady will make some of her own someday, like the great-great-great grandmother she was named for.

but that is another family tree quilting roots story for another day.

hidden treasure

did your morning start out with a crib covered in baby poo? well, mine did. but no worries. it got better fast.

while the baby was in the tub, i was thinking about all my "before i quilted" quilts and trying to mentally locate one that had eluded me. i found it buried in the linen closet after the bath.

but more about it later.

while i was photographing the old quilt, i decided i might as well photograph my grandma's sewing machine, too. i've been meaning to do that forever.

when my paternal grandparents reached their 80's about 10 years ago, their health was failing and a decision was made to move them closer to the children so they could be cared for. their 4 children descended on their home of 30 years in houston, tx, and cleaned it out. there were a few things i wanted and got, the main one being a painting of my grandfather's mother.

maryann died when my grandfather was only 5 months old, so none of us ever really knew her. but i've always loved this painting and been drawn to it, even before i knew who the pretty lady in it was. i like to imagine she was a quilter. i do know for certain she was a musician and accomplished pianist. my husband thinks i look like her and i tend to agree there is an element of sameness there. my father brought me the painting and her wedding band after the move. priceless, both of them.

something i did not ask for that he so kindly brought me was my grandmother's sewing machine.

like i mentioned before, my grandma margaret did the obligatory 50's housewife sewing, but i never saw her use the machine in my lifetime. it sat in front of the window in her galley-style laundry room, untouched. when daddy brought it to me, it was locked up in it's pretty wooden case. i thought it was nice of him, but i secretly wished he'd gotten his grandmother's old black treadle singer, still in it's table. i remembered grandma's machine being white and boxy, and knew it probably came out of the 50's or 60's. it wasn't a graceful antique, but a retro machine is pretty cool. 

he also brought me two books from her extensive collection: a circa 1950's sewing manual and a biography of my great-great uncle, maryann's uncle lehi.

 i didn't sew at the time these were handed down to me and thought daddy's offerings rather unusual, but graciously and thankfully accepted them since i like family heirlooms. i suppose you could say they were prescient of my coming hobby and obsession. the machine now resides on a bookcase in my bedroom. this morning i had an urge to open it up and inspect it's mid-century white glory.

but the key was missing.

i hunted high and low for that darn key. i also tried a tapestry needle, bobby pin, safety pin, and any other small keys i could find. no luck. i don't know what kept me looking, but for over half an hour i did. and finally, in the last place of all, i found it. (well of course it's the last place - once you find something you don't look anywhere else.)

i thought i had looked at the machine when daddy brought it to me. but i guess i didn't, because when i opened it up today, i nearly cried. look!

 it's not her old industrial-looking white machine, but this beauty! i was stopped in my tracks, speechless over her loveliness. i have no idea where this came from, other than from grandma margaret's house. i know for a fact aunt catherine got the other antique machine, so i don't know what this one is, exactly. but, oh, thank you, thank you, daddy for being intuitive and thoughtful enough to bring it to me.

 there were even some notions in it - bobbins still threaded and this wood-handled marking tool, also beautiful. we just don't make stuff like this anymore. everything is made with attention to detail and aesthetics, as well. the machine's front plate is stunning. i took two photos of it in different exposures. can't decide which i like better.

 darker shows the details of the etching (?) more distinctly.

 lighter shows off the gleam and shine.

can you even believe how glorious? i'm completely in awe still.

i wonder if she still works, but i'm rather afraid to try.

however, i will be uncovering her to admire more often.

this rather makes up for not having any family quilts.

as for the retro sewing manual, it's gone into hiding. i searched pretty far for that one, too, but gave up. it'll turn up later and make for another nice post some other time.

do you have any heirloom sewing machines, notions, or products? i'd love to see or hear about them.

my quilting roots

some of my "before i quilted" quilts

i don't really have any genetic quilting roots. my mother was a sewer, but never a quilter. sure, she did some of those "tied quilts," but they weren't patchwork and i don't really count them. they were basically sheets with some puffy polyester batting in between that were tied together with yarn, no proper binding. okay, so they were kind of quilts, but not exactly and i'm getting way off track here.

start again.
i do not come from a line of quilters. my mother sewed a lot. both my grandmothers sewed, too, like all good housewives of the 50's, but i never sewed with them or got a sewn product from either of them. their sewing days were long over by the time i arrived. except my baby blessing dress that my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother sewed for me, which i completely cherish and have used for each of my 5 girls. it's definitely an heirloom with 5 generations of connection to it now. and i did inherit my paternal grandmother's beautiful old singer in it's wooden case. but i never once saw her sew on it.

oh, quilting. right.
there are no quilters in my recent family gene pool. i'm sure if you go back a few branches on the family tree to my pioneer heritage there were definitely quilters. but none of the ancestors in the 3 generations before me who i met, to my knowledge, quilted. sewed, embroidered, cross stitched, hemmed, altered, patched - yes. quilted - no.

but the very first quilt i can remember having any influence on my life was a beautiful monotone pink star quilt that resided on the bed in my aunt catherine's room at my maternal grandmother's house. i think it's what you call a "lonestar" pattern, which was rather prophetic because my grandmother spent the rest of her life in houston, tx once my grandpa graduated college. it was just one huge star (not the 5 point kind) that began in the middle of the quilt and radiated out in succeeding shades of pink, to the edges of the quilt. the star was made of diamonds in graduated sizes. it was beautiful. even as a child who loved new, crisp items, i had an appreciation for the lovely pink star.

when i was 13, i lived with my grandparents for 6 months to bridge the gap between my family's move from TX to TN so that i could finish off my 8th grade year and get my braces off. catherine's room became my room and i slept under that exquisite quilt. i came to think of it as mine in a way. grandma margaret told me it had been a wedding gift to her from her aunts. what a treasure.

my grandparents circa 1945

grandma was a war bride. now that i think of it, that quilt must have been quite a feat to put together at that time. wasn't fabric rather dearly priced? it's not a patchwork quilt made from scraps but one carefully and purposefully put together from new fabrics selected for their color and presentation value in a well thought out wedding present. coming out of the war and post-depression era, i think this is probably rather unusual. or at least a statement about their love for her and intentions in putting together a nice gift.

i wish i had a picture of it, but i don't. i photographed many features of my grandparent's home about 13 years ago, but the quilt had been removed from the bed at that point. catherine, in an effort to be helpful, had tried to wash the quilt in the washing machine. it came apart at the delicate seams. she didn't completely destroy it, but extensive repairs were needed. i think when they cleaned out my grandmother's home catherine took the quilt with the intentions of restoring it. i hope she does. as much as i adore it, i don't begrudge her the quilt. but i would like a photograph of it.

that is the only heirloom pieced quilt that i know of in my family. and i can certainly trace the roots of my love of quilting right to the heart of that huge, pink star. maybe someday i'll learn how make something like it.

kelli at "seriously, i think it needs stitches" posted some wonderful family quilts, which inspired a lot nostalgia in me. like i said, i don't have any heirloom quilts. but that problem in my family stops right here. i'm going to make sure to leave enough behind for everyone.

lately, i've been thinking of just exactly how this love affair i have with quilts got started. it took me several years to come around to actually quilting myself. before that, i began purchasing a few. this morning, i had to confiscate one of my early purchases from a child because it needs repair and should not be played with. that got me thinking about the story of "before i quilted" and i decided to photograph those old-to-me quilts. (because mother of 7 had better things to do but didn't want to, of course.) i think i'll write about those "before i quilted" quilts in a series of post over the next several weeks. no schedule, that's too confining. but i'll be posting about them from time to time. and the rest will have photos!

they are, after all, my own roots in quilting.