Crazy Quilt, c. 1925

Here's another beautiful crazy quilt to add to all the collection of crazies I've documented on this blog.  What makes this crazy quilt stand out from the crowd is the era and the fabric choices.

The hey-day of the crazy quilt was the Victorian era, the 1880s and 1890s.  Silk satins, ribbon, and velvets, and tons of intricate embroidery, like this one that I repaired a short while ago:

The crazy quilt tradition continued into the 20th century, often in wools and cottons, often with less embroidery.  Here's an example:

The quilt in the first photo maintains the look of the Victorian quilts, but was made in the 1920s or 1930s.  Some of the fabrics are silk (and needed patching because of splitting, just like a Victorian-era quilt).  But some of the fabrics are early rayons - evidenced by their condition, and even more, by the colors and print styles.

The embroidery is really fun.  This quilter certainly loved her French knots!  Also, she devised some interesting geometric patterns.  To me, these also echo the 1920s-30s esthetic.  Less floral, less traditional stitches, more contemporary and heading towards the Art Deco era.

These next 3 photos show more examples of these things: 1920s-30s-style rayon prints, modernistic geometric embroidery patterns, and some Victorian-like hand-painted flowers.  This quilter was really straddling the centuries!

I include these little corners, because I love the way the embroidery echoes the prints in both color and design, and adds that little something extra as well.