World Without End

The border of triangles and squares that decorates my blog pages is a pattern called World Without End.  I adopted it as my logo quite a long time ago.  I like how it can look like a whole variety of different patterns depending on the coloration and layout, and I like the positive name.

Snowflake Quilt part 2 - Repair and Dedication

The previous post told the story of Grace Powell and the quilt she made in the late 1930s.  Here is my part of this quilt's history:  a large patch and an embroidered dedication.

At some point, someone tried to iron the poor quilt!  No one remembers when or how this happened.  This is certainly not a good idea, but became even more troublesome when the iron left a pretty large scorch mark.  The burned fabric on the front flaked away, and on the back the weakened fabric ripped.  The batting in the area fell out.

Snowflake Quilt - part 1 The Story

This lovely quilt was made by Grace C. Powell in 1938-9 and given to her granddaughter Elaine on her 16th birthday. The current owner is Grace's great-granddaughter and Elaine's niece.  She has her great-grandmother's very detailed diaries, which are full of references to working on this quilt.

I Know This Puppy

I was searching for vintage fabrics and came across an ad for a children's fabric.  It's actually a reproduction print, not a vintage fabric.  But the designs used are vintage.  A couple of them are identical to appliqués on a 1940s child's quilt that I helped bring back to life.  And couple of others are similar enough, that I'd guess they came from the same original pattern set.

An Old, Old Quilt

If, like me, you always like your antiques "the older the better", here's a quilt that fits the bill.

I came across this article a short while ago - it tells the story of a very, very old quilt that resides in Ohio.

The quilt is a whole cloth wool quilt.  It was made by the aptly-named Martha Crafts, born in 1760.  Family history says she made it prior to her 1787 marriage to Zachariah Howard.  This dating information consists of documentation written in 1910.  The style, fabric, and large size all help support the family's information.   This potential date would make it older than the oldest such quilt in the collections of the Smithsonian, and the folks in Canton are pretty pleased with that fact.

It was displayed last month at the local quilt show, only its second public appearance in all these years.

There is a great deal of family history associated with the quilt, making it an even more interesting piece.  The article details the history of Martha, her life and marriage, and the path of ownership and restoration of the quilt, a very interesting read.

Wouldn't we all love to have quilts with such great historical value and provenance in our family collection?

http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2013/03/28/true-tales-howard-quilt/
Published in the Canton Citizen.  Written by George T. Comeau.

Starry Quilt

Here's a lovely star quilt, probably made in the last decades of the 1800s.  

I've seen this pattern called "Blazing Star" or "Star of Bethlehem".  This pattern has a long history as a favorite.  Barbara Brackman's Encyclopedia of Quilt Patterns lists many other names.  Along with flowers, quilters seem to have always been very fond of stars!

Book Review: Build Your Best Log Cabin

Log Cabin block, Barn Raising setting

I'm starting out the new year by doing something new.  I was invited to write a book review for an ebook about log cabin quilts by Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting.  I've never written an official book review before.  So here goes:

Magic Vine

This is the Magic Vine quilt I was working on in the photos in my previous post.

When a picker brought the top into the antique quilt gallery where I used to work, I fell in love with it immediately.  All the appliqué was completed, excepting the corners of the borders which were basted in place.  The backing fabric was folded in along with the top.  It was a total no-brainer for me to buy it, especially since green is my favorite color.

All I had to do was attach the borders to the center panel, baste it up, and start quilting.

Me and the Magic Vine

Today, I came across these photos that I meant to use and never have.  They were taken a couple of years ago now, by Raimonda Daras.  I was demonstrating hand quilting at the annual Fine Art of Fiber show.  It's a wonderful event - the weavers, quilters, and needlework guilds all participate, and we pretty much take over all the exhibit spaces at the Chicago Botanic Garden.  

This quilt is an antique top that I bought many years ago.  I save it for those times when I need a demonstration project, so it has been in progress for a very long time now.  

Grecian Square

A friend of mine wrote and asked me why the Grecian Square blocks in the "red, white, and symbolic" quilt I recently wrote about have that name.  What is Grecian about them?