Improved 9-Patch

I really enjoyed working on this quilt.  It's a kind of quilt that I have dubbed a "quilt-y quilt" - meaning it personifies what lots of folks think an old quilt ought to look like.  A traditional pattern, scrappy, cozy and bright.

The pattern is called Improved 9-Patch, and with all the curves and narrow points, probably not a beginner's quilt.  The stitching, both the piecing and the quilting, is very well done.

Well at any rate, when I first laid it out to study it and make an estimate, we became friends right away! On top of that, the quilt is still in the family, and the current owner shares info and photos of the maker below.

I thought I'd let this quilt illustrate making fabric selections for repairs.  I was pretty pleased with the fabrics I found.  Sometimes I'm not quite this pleased, so yes, I am showing off a bit.

The Melrose Quilt - Statistics and Stories

 

Now that all the excitement and preparations around the exhibit have come and gone, I'm publishing the compilations of statistics and stories I discovered about life in Melrose, MA, at the end of the 19th century.

A previous post describes the exhibit and events.  Links to many chapters chronicling the research process can be found below.  I hope you enjoy the saga as much as I enjoyed it!

Here are links to the data.  (Depending on your browser and browser settings, you may see the pages here or you may find them in your downloads.)

List of Names on the Quilt - Includes names as written and more complete names when found

Census Records Closest to 1895-1900 - Household members, ages, professions, stories

Census Data Used to Date the Quilt 

Summation of Interesting Facts and Stories

Names Listed in Order of Street Name and Number - In case you visit Melrose and want to look for houses where these people lived

Age Chart - Ages from census records closest to 1895-1900 

Here are all the previous posts:
Part 1 describes the quilt and the initial research.  Part 2 details how I narrowed down the dates, and relates some of the interesting family stories I began finding.  Part 3 tells the story of the Phinney, Dyer, and Hersey families.  Part 4 has general observations on life in the late 1890s.   Part 5 sums up my research.  Part 6 shares the first information from librarians and historians in Melrose.  I wrote a little aside about the fun of being able to look at original records online.  And, since the quilt did initially come to me for repair, and I did eventually stop reading census forms and do the repair work, and wrote up the techniques and choices involved.  And then I went back to the research, and continued to find lots of great information.  After the events, I described the homecoming experience and the exhibits, and wrote about the little quilt I made that was inspired by the historical quilt. And a very astonishing coincidence with another quilt and a family tree.  I was given a photo of one of the people named on the quilt. 

Two Family Quilts

Here are two heirloom quilts that came to me in need of some TLC.

   

At some point, someone affixed typed labels that identify the quiltmakers and the quilts' histories.  This is what's called "provenance" in the antiques biz, and is always a good thing!

Quilt #1

A Happy Tale: Returning Lost Quilts to Their Family

 

 

My friends are very good to me.  Every time they see or hear something about quilts, they forward it on to me.  Thanks, y'all!  It always brightens my day. 

A friend sent me the link to a story one of his friends had written.  It's a heartwarming tale of family quilts lost and found.  I asked for permission to share the story with you all.  And she said yes!

Studying the Quilts
Quilts Go Home

The author is Suzanna Leigh.  The internet surely has become a marvelous tool that makes this kind of story possible.  I hope you enjoy the story as much as I do.  Brava, Suzanna for finding and caring for these family treasures!

Ancestor Quilt

So, as I mentioned in the post about all the quilt fun last month in Melrose, MA, the library hosted an exhibit of quilts inspired by the historical quilt I've been researching.  The exhibit was cleverly titled “Red, White, & Words,” referring to the antique red and white quilt that was inscribed with 222 names of Melrose-area residents at about 1897.  (The full list of links about the quilt and the research is below.)

I figured I wasn’t going to have time to make a quilt alongside all the prep I was doing for the exhibit and lecturing and traveling, but then an idea did just pop into my head…. you know how it goes.... and it wasn’t a terribly difficult idea….. 

So I made a tiny 3-block version of the Melrose quilt, inscribed with the names on my own family tree.  It was small, easy to piece, and tied, and I did indeed get it finished and submitted in time.  I even managed to find a red on cream polka dot fabric for the back, just like on the original!

The center block has myself and my husband in the middle, our two children on the sides, and my father and mother at top and bottom.

The top block connects to my father's name.  His brother is at the bottom, and their parents, my grandparents, are in the center.  My great-grandparents are on the left and top.  On the right my grandmother's siblings are memorialized, all but one of whom were killed, as were my grandparents, in the Holocaust. 

The bottom block connects to my mother's name.  Her parents, my grandparents, are in the center.  My great-grandparents are at top and bottom.  My great-great-grandparents are left and right. 

It was a surprisingly powerful feeling to write my ancestors’ names on a quilt!  They are now recorded in a way that is very near and dear to my heart.

Here are all the previous posts:
Part 1 describes the quilt and the initial research.  Part 2 details how I narrowed down the dates, and relates some of the interesting family stories I began finding.  Part 3 tells the story of the Phinney, Dyer, and Hersey families.  Part 4 has general observations on life in the late 1890s.   Part 5 sums up my research.  Part 6 shares the first information from librarians and historians in Melrose.  I wrote a little aside about the fun of being able to look at original records online.  And, since the quilt did initially come to me for repair, and I did eventually stop reading census forms and do the repair work, and wrote up the techniques and choices involved.  And then I went back to the research, and continued to find lots of great information.  After the events, I described the homecoming experience and the exhibits. And a set of summaries of the data and stories that brought the quilt to life. 

I've Had an Incredible December!!

Firstly:

While on my trip to Massachusetts and New Hampshire, my lecture "Quilt Repair Tales" was filmed for the Melrose, MA, local access cable.

Yep.  So now, I'm on TV.   (Right now, it's listed as a Current Video.  Eventually, I suspect it'll just show up on the Videos tab.

Secondly:

As if being on TV wasn't cool enough!  I got interviewed on a podcast!!!

I joined the facebook group associated with a wonderful podcast called "Just Wanna Quilt".  And when I wrote my little intro to the group, I guess I caught the eye of the woman whose brainchild this is, and she asked if I'd like to be interviewed about a project I'd mentioned in my intro.  Turns out, she didn't just want to talk about that, she'd checked out my website etc., and the interview is wide-ranging and about....me.  Whoa.  I don't know if my feet will ever come back to ground.

(As well as being a quilter, she's a lawyer, and designing all sorts of projects to learn about the whys and hows of the quilt world and quilt businesses and how copyright works in the quilt world, and also to create community.  In other words, she's being a quilt anthropologist.  So cool!) 

Yep.  So now, I'm on a podcast.

Somehow, I managed to keep breathing and sound pretty calm and rational in both cases!

So.....
I guess right now my mood is more like Happy Old Year rather than Happy New Year.  Wow.  Who knows what will happen next.  Grin grin grin!!!

Winter Visit to Sugar Hill, NH

In addition to all the goings on in Massachusetts that I described in the previous post, I spent several days up in Sugar Hill, NH, visiting our cousins.  We traveled north on a dark grey and rainy day.  It wasn't much for taking glorious photos from the bus, but I like the moodiness of these.

 

 

One day was devoted to quilty events.  My cousin is not a quilter, but she loves old things and pretty things.  They live in a house built in the 1820s that is chock full of pretty things collected as they traveled and lived around the world.  She volunteers with the local history museum and is great friends with the museum curator, and she has a good friend who quilts.

So between them, they devised a quilt day.  I gave the same lecture that I gave in Melrose - Quilt Repair Tales - which combines information on quilt repair philosophy and techniques with stories of interesting quilts that have passed through my studio over the years.  Participants brought quilts to show and discuss.  And we had a most scrumptious potluck meal.  All this transpired in a wonderful family home with incredible winter mountain views.

The Melrose Quilt Returns to Melrose, MA

Since my previous post, the events I described then have come to pass.  A 3 1/2 year project had its milestone event.  I’m not going to say that the project reached its conclusion, because I really want the research and storytelling around this quilt to continue.  There are plenty of loose ends left to be tied!

In that previous post, you can read the process leading up to this exhibit.  And at the end of that post, there are links to other posts that I wrote along the way during that 3 1/2 years.

In a nutshell:
The quilt magically found its way to me. The names on the quilt were researched.  And researched some more with the help of Melrose community historians.  The results were nicely typed and formatted.  By happy happenstance found myself in contact with a woman in Melrose who was excited about the quilt and about creating an event around it.  She found a venue.  She planned several associated events.  Descendants contributed stories and photos.  I repaired the quilt.  I put on a temporary backing to help support and protect the quilt while hanging.  And finally, 120 years after it was dedicated and stitched, the quilt and I flew off to Massachusetts!

Melrose History Quilt, December 2018

 

Way back in spring 2015, I received a query for information on repairing an inscribed quilt.  And as they say, the rest is history.

Just for fun, I looked up some of the names on Ancestry.com, and the owner ended up deciding to leave the quilt with me so I could fully research it.  That was magic #1.  My research points to Melrose, MA, as its home, and 1897-8 for its creation.  See History Comes to Life on a Quilt on this blog, to read lots more details about the quilt and about Melrose.  At the bottom of this post are links to the whole set of posts about this amazing saga.

Magic #2 was receiving an order for my book from Alanna Nelson who lives right there in Melrose.  Magic #3 is that she is an avid quilter and knitter and event planner.

So for the last several years, I've been continuing the research, with the help of a Melrose librarian and contact with some of the family members and descendants, and Alanna has been creating a celebration focused on this quilt.  Oh, and I also did finally do the repair work.  Soon I'll be taking the quilt there, and participating in two weekends of events!

You can read about these upcoming events on the Melrose History Quilt website.  And down at the bottom of the home page, you'll find a space to sign up for the newsletter to keep you abreast of the plans.

I'll be there on Saturday December 1, Friday December 7, and Saturday December 8.  During the intervening week, I'll be in New Hampshire visiting family, and holding a workshop/get together on December 3.  You can contact me for details about that.  The quilt will be on display in Melrose on the other Saturdays in December, but I'll be coming back home.

In preparation, I've been solidifying all my lists.  I also wrote to people who have public trees for these families on Ancestry (where I've done the bulk of my researching).  Several people responded with some wonderful stories, some gorgeous family photos (a few of which are included below), and some new info, through which I've identified a few more people.  Here are the "final-for-now" results.

There are 227 names on the quilt.  I have located information on 184 of those people, and there are 43 that I couldn't find.  The quantity of information ranges from family contacts with stories and photos, to many links to census pages and other records (marriage, death, enlistments), to nothing more than a one-line entry in a Melrose directory.

The quilt was likely a fundraising project.  All the names are written by the same hand, so it is not a signature quilt.  Fundraiser quilts are known from this time and other decades.  People paid to have their name included, and then usually there was also an auction or raffle to sell the quilt in the end.  Often, date, place, and event are also included on the quilt, but not in this case.  Town histories include the incorporation of Melrose as a city and a renovation of the Methodist Episcopal Church around this time.

As I try to narrow in on the date that the quilt was made, I'm realizing that there will likely never be anything more definite that a range, unless some new source comes to light that actually describes the quilt and tells why and when it was made.  For one thing, there probably was a year or so during which the quilt was being made, and the names list may or may not have been updated during that process.  Also, for example, people may not have donated to have brand new infants added or may have added names to the quilt in memoriam. 

I'm pretty sure that names of new infants and married surnames of women couldn't have been entered on the quilt before the events happened.  The latest such incontrovertible dates on the quilt are the birth of Grace Everson on March 21, 1897, and a fairly large gap until the marriage of William and Jennie Howes on June 28, 1898.  In that gap though, there are three marriages and two births that transpired in families that are named on the quilt.  But those new infants and married names are not written, in fact one of the new brides is written with her maiden name next to her husband-to-be.  So I'm assuming that their names were put on a list before the wedding.  There is no indication of births or deaths that happened later on in 1898 or in 1899.

I'm hoping to see lots of New England friends and family while I'm there.  And I'm hoping to meet new friends, too!

Part 1 describes the quilt and the initial research.  Part 2 details how I narrowed down the dates, and relates some of the interesting family stories I began finding.  Part 3 tells the story of the Phinney, Dyer, and Hersey families.  Part 4 has general observations on life in the late 1890s.   Part 5 sums up my research.  Part 6 shares the first information from librarians and historians in Melrose.  I wrote a little aside about the fun of being able to look at original records online.  And, since the quilt did initially come to me for repair, and I did eventually stop reading census forms and do the repair work, and wrote up the techniques and choices involved.  And then I went back to the research, and continued to find lots of great information.  After the events, I described the homecoming experience and the exhibits, and wrote about the little quilt I made that was displayed in Melrose.  A set of summaries of the data and stories that brought the quilt to life.  And a very astonishing coincidence with another quilt and a family tree.  I was given a photo of one of the people named on the quilt. 

The Fine Art of Fiber

It's that time of year again!

Next weekend is the annual Fine Art of Fiber show at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

Thursday 11/1, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Friday 11/2, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. + fashion show at 11 a.m.
Saturday 11/3, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. + fashion show at 11 a.m.
Sunday 11/4, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

As I say every year, it's a great show every year!  The show is presented by the North Suburban Needlearts Guild, Illinois Quilters Inc., and the Weavers Guild of the North Shore.  Soooooo many kinds of fiber art are represented, and soooooo many styles and ideas.  In addition to the exhibit itself, there are a boutiques of items made by guild members, a silent auction, and fiber art and quilts for sale.

The Garden is lovely at all times of year, so if the weather is good, plan for an enjoyable walk while you're there.

Admission is free, but the usual Garden parking fee applies.  Make it easy on your budget and come with a few friends - the fee is per car.

I'll have two little quilts on exhibit, both in the Something From Nothing series.  You can catch a glimpse of them both (and my Egyptian camels) in the photo.  One was seen in June at the EvanstonMade show, and one is hot of the presses, completed last night.

All the details are on the Garden website or the show website.  The show website also has photos from previous shows, so you out-of-towners can have a virtual visit.

Potholder Quilt with Disney Friends

The owner's great-grandmother made this quilt in 1974 for his mother.  It was made from the fabrics of dresses from his mother's childhood.  The dresses were originally handmade by his grandmother and great-grandmother, and then repurposed for the quilt.  So it is indeed a special memory quilt!

Here is the dated label.

 

Twisty Turny Genealogy Research

So, here's how I had fun on a cool, grey, damp Saturday afternoon.

I’m taking the next step in the research into the names on a quilt that was most likely made in Melrose MA, in the late 1890s.  The story of all the previous work is on this blog, starting with Part 1 and linking along for several more posts.  (The full list of links in below.)

Alanna Nelson, a Melrose fiber enthusiast and community builder, has taken it upon herself to plan a "homecoming" for the quilt in December, with all sorts of creative associated programming.  The quilt and I will be there, of course! 

That's One Magnificent Button!

For me, buttons are just about the coolest things in the world.  I am constantly amazed by how many kinds of buttons people have managed to design and produce over the course of time.  Absolutely amazed.

Well, this one stands out from the crowd.  This one is magnificent. 

It resides on this lovely suit.  Just one button.  Demanding all the attention.  But there's more than just this button to appreciate.

 

The Social Justice Sewing Academy

 

I must admit that the quilt repair process can get kind of boring when it gets down to the actual sewing.  Once I figure out what needs to be done and how to do it, it can be pretty repetitive.  One resource I fall back on a lot is listening to podcasts.  And one interview that really sparked my interest was with Sara Trail, founder of the Social Justice Sewing Academy, on the Just Wanna Quilt podcast.

Yes, Yes, More Buttons

You guys, I just can't say no to a batch of mystery buttons.  No matter how bland it looks at first glance, there are sure to be treasures in amongst the basics.  And if one or two treasures are peeking out, I'm a goner.  And so.....

This batch came from the giveaway table at my local needlework guild.  There are always people de-stashing and we reap the benefits.  It'a a great, albeit dangerously tempting, tradition.

And here are my favorites:

Stylish: Jeanie and Barbie

My mother-in-law Jeanie knew how to dress well and properly.  All the time.  All occasions. 

This photo was taken in 1961.  She is standing with my husband, at 13 years old, on the day of his Bar Mitzvah.  There are two more photos of Jeanie's style at the end of this post.  (Oooops, the white smear is a glare on the photo, not a smear on Larry's suit.) 

Jeanie also loved handwork, including crocheting and knitting.

She put these two loves together and designed and crocheted dresses and gowns for Barbie dolls.

 

A New Friend From Mother Earth

A short while ago, I once again went to Kalona, IA, for the Iowa-Illinois Quilt Study Group meeting. 

While there, I wandered the museum shop at the Kalona Historical Village who graciously hosts the study group.  And I found.......

.......a lovely little box full of geodes!  I love geodes!  I can never just walk past a box of geodes.  Here's the one that followed me home this time.

Mending the Melrose Quilt

 

This quilt has been on a magical journey of rediscovery.

It was sent to me for repairs a few years ago.  When I told the owner that I'd poked around on ancestry.com and had found some of the names that were written on it, she most graciously gifted me the quilt so I could continue finding its history!  She is an author and historian and has been really happy that the quilt's story is resurfacing.  Turns out, she is Jane Anderson, the person who wrote the screenplay for the movie "How to Make an American Quilt." Honestly, this quilt repair biz has taken me down some pretty amazing paths!

I since have identified about 2/3 of the people named, and located the quilt in time and space: Melrose, MA - probably 1897-8.  You can read about the process in earlier posts, and the resulting exhibits here and here.  (A full list of links is below.)

The next step in the quilt's journey was a chance contact with Alanna Nelson, a textile lover and event planner who lives right there in Melrose, when she just happened to order my quilt repair book.  She has since been making plans for a "homecoming" celebration of the quilt in December 2018, with exhibits, programs, participation by local quilt guilds and local historians, etc., etc.  And, she put me in touch with the genealogist at the Melrose Library, who has shared records that the library holds that helped identify even more people.

The venue for the exhibits requires that the quilt be appraised for insurance during the event.  My appraiser friend, Sherry Branson, said I should do the repairs before bringing it to her.  So after being with me for three years, the quilt has finally been repaired!  Hee, hee!

Here are details of the repair process.  I found myself going through the same assessment process that I ask my customers to consider.  Not surprising, but I kept chuckling to myself, thinking - oh, so this is what it feels like.

Saving a Damaged Heirloom Quilt

It's always both sad and wonderful when someone brings me a beloved family quilt that has, well, seen better days, but is still quite full of meaning and sentiment.  What to do?  Often there is lots of fabric damage, and sometimes tears and holes through all three layers of the quilt.  A full-out restoration would cost a whole bunch, maybe more than the owner can afford - but I think there's a bigger issue when it's the sentiment that counts.  Having a quilt end up with as much or maybe even more of my stitches than ancestral stitches just doesn't make sense. 

Here is a solution I have devised for giving a such a quilt enough support and stabilization to let the family handle and enjoy it more safely. 

The Rescue of an Heirloom Child's Quilt

This was one of those times when repairing a quilt was all about saving family history and sweet memories.

Here's the email message that introduced me to the quilt:
"I discovered my husband's baby blanket. It's survived 4 children. We are retired military and we have little that has not been lost or ruined from our many moves over 21yrs. Besides the blanket I have only 3 pics of my husband's from his childhood. It would mean a lot to him and me if someone of your skill level could help restore this precious gift."

The owners of this quilt sent me some photos before sending the quilt, so I could get a general idea of what would be needed and give them a general idea of the cost.  It was pretty wrinkled up, but I wasn't concerned, since people often don't spend lots of time taking perfect photos.  Mostly I was looking at the torn squares and open seams.

Summer Trees, Summer Skies, and a Visual Puzzle

I take photos nearly daily as a kind of mindfulness, meditative practice.  "Stay here, stay present."  I've collected some tree photos I really like and share them here.  The final one is a puzzle!

I especially love this color combination - steely blue-grey storm clouds moving on to the east, with afternoon sun reappearing in the west, shining on bright green leaves.  This is the view from my front door.  I take this shot often in changing light and sky.  Living across the street from a park is the best.

 

Fun With a Hat

So!  Tonight I get to celebrate!  My blog readership statistics clicked over a big milestone number today!

To celebrate, I'm sharing a selfie - a rare occurrence!   Here's me, enjoying a great vintage hat that I mended a couple of weeks ago.  (Simple repair, the veil had come unattached in a couple of places.)

Isn't it such a sweet hat?!  Its full pedigree is:  "1940s Ivory Straw Hat with Black Veil, Flowers, and Feathers by Edythe of Evanston."  Too my eyes, it's quite whimsical - so I had to try it on.  And better yet, it was made right here in my home town. 

This is one of the perks of doing these repairs, for sure.  I get to play around with all sorts of fashion that otherwise would never be on my radar.  I am far from a clothes horse.  I like what I like, tend to the grey-haired hippie look.  Julia is always finding new wardrobe treats for me while she's doing her sleuthing and shopping for her shop.  She really helps me look more presentable. 

To top it all off, I picked just the right fashion pose to show it off.  Here's the photo Julia took of the hat on her lovely model Rada.  Seems to me that Rada can wear any kind of hat and look just perfect!

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.)

Treat Time!

I decided, since I now have two vintage Bernina 830's, and since this model seems to be a perennial favorite, that I'd best step up my machine knowledge and caretaking.

So I "splurged", which is way too big a word for this, and bought 3 packs of real Bernina bobbins.  Using generics is not good for the precision working of the machine, and though the difference between bobbins is tiny, it is truly visible.

So while I was at it, I replaced my seam ripper which has been broken for probably about 4 years now.  You can see from this discussion so far that I am a total penny pincher.  I admit it.

And now, here comes the actual splurge - though again it's way too big a word.  I bought a variety pack of little tweezers.  They might come in handy for slipping patches under tears during quilt repair.  They might come in handy threading needles in tight places.  And besides, don't they look like fun!

Beaded 1940s Hat

Here's another vintage clothing repair tale.

I've talked several times before about my button collection, what fun it is, and how one can never have enough buttons.  There is always, always the chance of having just the perfect replacement for a missing button!

It's exactly the same story for beads!  I also buy these at estate sales. 

Evanston Made 2018

The Evanston Art Center is once again hosting an exhibit as part of the Evanston Made arts month in June.

I'm just finishing up my entry:

Spools and Sawtooth

One of the nicest things about repairing quilts is that some really marvelous quilts cross my path.  I get to see and work on such a wide range of quilts.  Here's one I really enjoyed.

I love the combination of the spool blocks and the alternate sawtooth edged blocks.  The blocks play visual games. The two blocks form a cool secondary octagonal pattern that kind of comes and goes.  I find it hard for my eyes to focus on the blocks themselves, and instead there's a rhythm and movement across the quilt.