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.

A Stylish Quilt made by an Amazing Grandmother

 

I am fascinated by this quilt.  It was brought to me for minor repairs by the granddaughter of the quiltmaker.  (Thanks to her for the photo above.)  Not only are the design and fabrics really interesting, but the stories about the woman who chose them are great, too.

First, the design.  I don't remember ever seeing a quilt like this, with it's plain, all-white center panel with a frame and the deep appliquéd drop around the sides of the bed.  Have any of you seen such a quilt?  

My mind wants to place it in the 1960s and as a pattern found in a women's magazine of that era.

The fabric choices are wonderful.  No tiny calico prints for this lady.  The prints are larger and bold.  The flowers are more than 6" across, stylized and unusual. 

New Video: "Welcome to my Studio"

 

Hi, everyone!  I'm announcing a new video on my YouTube channel.  It's a bit of a tour of my quilting studio and fabric stash.

You'll see fabrics, new art quilts, and loads of doo-dads.  

Click here to access the video.

Please come visit!  

(You can also find my channel and see the whole video collection, and my interview on the Just Wanna Quilt podcast, by searching in YouTube for my name - Ann Wasserman.)

Busy Days

So yes, I guess I have to admit to working on lots of things (too many?) at the same time.  Here's what ended up on my work table by the end of the day on Saturday:

Clockwise from upper left:

Across the top:  Two baggies of sheer fabrics for textile conservation.  They are soon to be pressed and cut into square swatches be included in the supplies samples kit for my upcoming workshop.  (Preserving Our Quilt Legacy Virtual Workshop)

These are mostly covering up a little quilt, nearly completed, a wedding gift.  You can see just a bit of blue sky and wood grain fabric frame.  I can’t reveal it yet, but once it’s been given, I will blog about it.

Bottom right corner:  Box of threads.

To the left of that:  Little cardboard box with more supplies for the samples kit.

Prepped supplies:  needles and pins on a piece of labeled muslin, thick threads wrapped on sticks.  My round tins of straight pins and safety pins.  Eraser.  Little basket of scraps.

Bottom left corner.  Two fabrics chosen for the current repair job.  Two papers - one with the workshop class list - one with notes taken from a very useful conversation I had on Saturday.

Left edge center.  Fabric samples that will be used in the lecture about supplies that I’ll give during the workshop.

Sundays are my no-quilt-biz days.  I made a new jar of almond butter - it's soooooo good when it's fresh.  And I did some house cleaning, far from my favorite thing to do.  But this time, somehow it seemed the right thing to do and was actually not so onerous.  I wish those moments came around more often!  I made my weekly diary, a compilation of photos taken during the week, photos of what I'm doing and any pretty or curious things that come along.  I watched videos, lounged, mused. 

Monday, I did some more workshop kits prep, this time samples of sewing threads I use.  Packed repaired quilts to send back to two customers and a box of my books going to Martha Spark who kindly offers them for sale at her lectures and workshops.  Answered quilt repair emails.  Drafted this post.  And lots of this and that.

So yes, just a few things going on at once.  Sometimes it seems too much and the logistics of it all get annoying, but then again, I just can't say no to new ideas as they come along, and I really love having quilts and quilting be the center of my life.

Ta-da!!!!

 

Virtual Preserving Our Quilt Legacy Workshop

My next virtual workshop on quilt restoration and conservation is coming up in 2023 - Saturdays from Jan 18 - Feb 23 to be precise. Here's a little holiday fun for you.

 

What do these things have to do with taking care of vintage and antique quilts?

 

Two-step greens?

https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/tap-dance" Tap Dance Vectors by Vecteezy

 

Straw needles?

Insect pins?

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Come to the workshop and find out! 

 

There will be lectures, triage sessions for participants' quilts, how-to videos, samples of repair supplies, etc., etc.

 

There are several ways to register depending on your interests and needs.

All the details are at: https://www.annquilts.com/POQL_Workshop.html

Email me if you have questions.   

 

My next workshop! ..... Winter 2023

 I've set the dates for my next Preserving Our Quilt Legacy Virtual Workshop!

 *** January 28 - February 25, 2023 ***

The sessions will be held on five consecutive Saturdays, 3.25 hours per day, via Zoom.  Various shorter "alá carte" options are also available.  

I started working with old quilts, when my love of "old things" joined up with the discovery of the wonderful world of quilts.  I have met wonderful quilt owners, historians, and restorers, and I feel I have also met wonderful quilters of the past through their quilts.  I have learned all sorts of fascinating new knowledge and had several amazing coincidental experiences.  

And now I have 40 years experience to share. 

Lectures include "How Old Is It?" 
Perks include samples of fabrics and threads used for this work. 
Activities include triage sessions for participants' quilts - find out how to put all the class information to use. 

Full info and registration are on my website.

There are several ways to register, depending on your needs. 

Come learn ”how to make your old quilts sing again!"
And they do, indeed, sing when they are loved, cared for, neatened up, and brought back to life. 

Please share this info with your quilting buddies!

 

 

 

Improved 9-Patch - New Video

 

I've got a new quilt repair video up on YouTube!  This one looks at an Improved 9-Patch brought to me for repair by my friend Pat.  

(You'll find a few other videos there, as well as an interview with me on the Just Wanna Quilt podcast.)  

It's a lovely quilt, in both design and stitchery skills.  The video highlights the decision process I went through in picking the patching fabrics.