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. 

Antique Quilt Study in Kansas City

It's a happening thing!  In less than one month, June 7-9, I'll be in Kansas City, participating in the MOKA Quilt Study Group Conference!  The presentation topics for the weekend focus on 19th century fabrics and design motifs and 19th century signature quilts. 

My lecture is taking shape:

The title of the lecture is Quilt Repair Tales.  I'll be talking about interesting quilts that have passed through my studio for care.  I'll be sharing both the family tales that quilts can embody, and tales of repair processes and techniques.

Vintage Clothing Tidbits

So, I thought I'd follow up the previous post, about a lovely 1920s beaded purse, with some more vintage clothing repair highlights.

The first tidbit is a photo of "how we do it".  I don't know if we've ever had a photo together like this before.  This is Julia, proprietress of Basya Berkman Vintage Fashion, and me sitting at my living room worktable.  I am gradually taking over the whole house with my repair work, supplies, and storage.  The living room has a wall-size window, which gives lovely light for handwork, so the table is nearly always up.  Julia had brought over a pile of  "broken" clothes, and here we are, going over each piece and I'm taking notes on what each one will need.  From the way we are dressed, you can tell what kind of winter we had this year in the Chicago area! 

Vintage 1920s Beaded Purse

I haven't posted anything about vintage clothing repair in a long time.  Here comes an absolutely lovely item - a 1920s vintage beaded purse.

Flexner Family Names on a Signature Quilt

Esther Abraham Flexner and Moritz Heinrich Flexner

A series of happenstances has lead me to connect names on a 1910 fundraiser quilt to one of my ancestors!  A whole new branch has been added to my family tree!

So pour a cup of tea and follow along on the detective trail.

The story of the research and discovery began back in 1984.  I was visiting a friend in Iowa when my obsession with quilts was brand new.  She and I went to the historical museum in Kalona.  There, among other things, I photographed a signature quilt with a dedication block that reads "M E Society / Jan. 1910 Kalona Ia."

Back to Blogging

I've been pretty quiet lately, and intend to be back this week to share several really fun quilt-y happenings.  In the meantime, here's a lovely Renoir, "Young Woman Sewing".  Renoir was the master of clear color, wasn't he?

I was down at the Art Institute of Chicago to see their quilt exhibit one more time before it ended.  So that'll be the subject of one post.  I was also just at the Iowa-Illinois Quilt Study Group meeting.  And the biggest and best story is about quilt history research on a 1910 signature quilt - this time it's about my very own family whose names appear on the quilt!  

Upcoming Quilt History Events!

Hey, hey!  I'll be taking off twice in the next few months for two really great quilt history gatherings!

Dutchman's Puzzle - Puzzling Fabric Choices

 

The repair of this Dutchman's Puzzle quilt was especially meaningful to me.  The owner is a daughter-in-law of a woman I became friends with during my college days.  I wrote about her quilt collection in a previous post.

This is another quilt my friend found in Kampsville, IL, made in the 1960s or so.  She had gifted it to the current owner.

Valentine's Day Dance

I thought it'd be fun to share one of my darlin' daughter's videos today.  She is a dancer, and in 2017, created a new dance video each month.  This is the dance she made last February, all about love and sweetness.  It's title: "jam and jelly."  I hope you enjoy it!

Schuster Mansion, Milwaukee

 

My friend Nancy invited me to come along to sample a Victorian high tea in Milwaukee.  She is in the midst of  researching sources for Victoriana artisans, B&Bs, and such to be listed on a site called Victorian Heart Shoppe.  Nancy's own gift shop, Roses and Teacups, carries all sorts of flowery, feminine, speciality items to make life sweet and beautiful.  Of course, I said yes without a second thought!

Come Home Soon

Quilts can carry so much love and so many memories.  Here's one such quilt that came to me for repair.

 

The owner told me:

My mom bought it from an Amish lady she knows in Lancaster Pa. She owns a really successful shop there. She bought it for me while I was away on my Mormon mission. It’s called “Come Home Soon.”

German Quilt Magazine!

The other day, I received the most wonderful envelope:

It contained, yep, copies of the January 2018 issue of Patchwork Professional, a German quilting magazine - with a long article about:

All About Love

 

Here's a sweet quilt that came to me carrying this very moving story.

My husband was in a terrible accident 11 years ago and was very close to dying. His church made him a quilt that they put on him when he was in the coma. He loves this blanket so incredibly much. Our black lab ripped parts of it when she was doing that circle nesting thing that dogs do before they lay down.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

I took this photo of my design wall last March, to celebrate being able to walk around enough on my healing foot to get back to pacing around while creating in my sewing room.

Here are the four quilts, from left to right, that were in progress then and are finished now.  They are all new members of my Something From Nothing series. The series is my own challenge project, based on a pile of decorator fabric samples that was given to me years ago.