Showing posts with label painted embellishments. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painted embellishments. Show all posts

May 8, 2023

Taking Care of a Crazy Quilt....by not Restoring It

 

The owner sent me these photos of her gorgeous crazy quilt for an initial assessment.  She and I decided not to do any repairs at this time.  However, it's such a beautiful quilt that I wanted to share it, and I am grateful that she has allowed me to share her photos.

It was made for my great great grandfather John Davis Cassada when he was born by his mother Lucy and his aunts.  Many were single or widowed from the Civil War.  All the initials are attributable to family members.  They were very thrilled to have a male in the family and used many 'fancy' scraps of silk and velvet. 

 John Davis Cassada was born in 1874.  His mother's name was spelled Lucie and Lucy alternatively.   John was born in South Boston, Virginia.  His family moved and he married and settled in Halifax then Raleigh area North Carolina. 

The reason I didn't have her send the quilt to me for repair is that the damage, shattering silk, is minimal for a silk quilt of this era.  Shattering is the damage caused by metal salts that were sometimes added during the manufacturing of silks during the Victorian era.

June 18, 2018

Quilts at the Art Institute of Chicago

 

 



The exhibit this past winter-spring in the textile galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago was spectacular.  So spectacular that I went twice!  Going once was just not enough time to soak up the beauty and history of the pieces from their great collection.  I craved another chance to breathe the rarefied air of these wonderful quilts!

And here they are, in no particular order, so all of you who don't live near Chicago get to enjoy them, too.  (I missed a couple of them, due to "too much" chatting, but this is most of them.)

November 15, 2014

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.

September 9, 2014

Embroidery Mistresspiece part 1


This quilt is a full-out embodiment of the height of the crazy quilt style.  The embroidery is off the charts for precision and creativity.  

Here are some pieces where the maker toyed with and built upon the designs on the fabrics:

May 27, 2014

Crazy Quilt Saga - Repairs


This crazy quilt provides a good example of the different techniques that I use to help maintain aging silks.  It also had a special problem - a silk ruffle on the edge, some of which was in really bad shape.

I used three different techniques, depending on the type of damage in each patch:

May 22, 2014

Crazy Quilt Saga - History


This quilt is a family heirloom, made by the great-grandmother of the current owner.  My thanks to the family for sharing their ancestor's story, and thereby the story of this quilt.
  

The quilt was made by Angela MacGregor Coutts Lewis.  Angela lived from November 20, 1871, to April 29, 1947.

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