Art Deco Second Addendum

Well, here's another addition to my increasing knowledge Cleopatra's Fan, the Art Deco-style pattern on this quilt.  Here's what's gone before:
Original post
First addendum

A very astute and friendly reader of this blog scouted out and is sharing a couple of websites with us.

Art Deco Addendum

I posted about a week ago about the quilt I repaired with an Art Deco pattern that I couldn't name.

Yesterday morning, over breakfast, I was leafing through the current catalog from Keepsake Quilting, and came across a kit for this quilt.

Keepsake Quilting kit #6253

Embroidery and Prairie Points

Next up in the quilt repair queue:  The stitching on this one, both the embroidery and the quilting, is really expert.  And then it has the prairie points giving a nice sparkle to the edge.  Try imagining the quilt without them; it really would lose a lot of spirit.

Sadly, this lovely embroidered quilt had an unfortunate interaction with the family dog.

Here's the repair step-by-step.

Art Deco Flowers ... or Fans

When this quilt arrived for repair, it just plain made me smile.  Such a nice pattern!  I was certain I'd seen the block many times and would quickly look it up and be reminded of its name.

Well, nope.  I haven't found it in the pattern compilation books.  I asked an appraiser that I know, and she didn't have a name for it either.  She said it could be a fans variation.  The owner had been thinking they were flowers, possibly tulips.

All I can say for sure is that it is firmly Art Deco, be it a rendition of a fan or a flower.  The fabrics are firmly in this era too, probably towards the end of it, c1940.

It must look familiar to me because I find the Art Deco style so intriguing, and have looked at so many photos of Art Deco everything.  I can easily imagine this design as a wide tiled or relief border up either side of a fancy doorway, for example.  Bottom line: I really like it.

More of this story at Art Deco Addendum and Art Deco Second Addendum.

..... But Wait, There's More

Yep.  One week later, the next estate sale.  Another button collection......

I pawed around in a little basket of little ribbon bows, so ancient and decrepit, destined for the garbage bin.  Underneath, there was this nice-looking button collection rattling around.  They'd only sell it as a "set", so I bought the whole thing.  You understand, I'm sure.

Well, in amongst the buttons was this packet, mailed in 1957 for 3 cents, to Miss Mae Awe.

And inside the packet, Mae's thank you gift for filling out a customer survey.  Uh-huh!

I do so love estate sales!

.... and More Buttons

Yep, another estate sale, another button jar.  I just can't pass 'em up.  All these for one dollar, folks.  Score!  (Thanks to my friend Gloria who spotted these while I was reveling in a box of sewing room odds and ends.)

I have now reached the point of no return.  I must DO something with all these buttons!  Jewelry?  Quilt embellishment?  (I've already done a bit of that, see links below.)  A quilt design executed entirely in buttons?

Vintage Music

At an estate sale, I found some wonderful old music magazines.  I bought a few and gave them to a musician friend for her birthday.  A couple are from 1910, and a couple from 1933.  I photographed some interesting bits to share with you here.

Covers went from black and white to color at some point during the intervening years.

  

   

Pennsylvania Tulips

The pattern on this cheerful quilt looks so familiar to me.  While I was mending it, I realized that it reminds me of Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs.  I looked online, and saw more than a few hex signs that have the same style of tulips, elongated diamonds with the two pointy leaves.  And then I learned from the owner that the quilt had been purchased in Pennsylvania.  

The block combines two design elements that have been favored by quilters for many, many, many years - stars and flowers.  It is entirely pieced, the circles being squared with 4 white corner quadrants.  I especially like this block in a softer, rosy red.

I found names for the block in Jinny Beyer's book, The Quilter's Album of Patchwork Patterns.  It was published as Cottage Tulips in 1931 in the Kansas City Star, and as Olive's Yellow Tulip in 1958 in Mrs. Danner's Fourth Quilt Book.  

When I Really Fell in Love With Quilts

After I graduated from college in 1977, I stayed on campus, working on the data base of one of the profs.  I spent most of my days on the computer, editing transcribed field notes on monkey social organization.  

At that time, the state-of-the-art was the big mainframe computer to which we submitted jobs and waited, and waited, and waited, for output.  I really needed some color and handwork in my life.  My mom was always saving sewing scraps and talking about making a quilt.  We never did do it, but that's what gave me the idea to try quilting with a little, 6-week, just-for-fun class at the student union.  

After a few years of pillows and placemats and my first big quilt, I was in San Francisco visiting some friends, and decided to hop over to Oakland and see the quilt exhibit there.  The exhibit was curated by Pat Ferrero, Linda Reuther, and Julie Silber.  It was life-changing for me!  And I guess it was life-changing for lots of folks, since it became a landmark exhibit.  

I recently discovered the out-of-print catalog on a used book website.  I was so excited!

This exhibit came 10 years after the famous Whitney Museum exhibit in 1971 that first hung quilts on the wall and discussed them as art.  The curators in Oakland had an additional theme, and gathered period photos and artifacts and family stories and arranged them alongside the quilts.  They presented the quilts as windows into women's lives.

One story that always has stayed with me is this:  There was a set of beautifully made and unusually colored quilts, interesting dark purple-ish and maroon colors.  Turns out, these pieces had all been dyed black, by the quilter, while she was going through a deep depression.  I was struck both by the incredible sadness that she expressed so eloquently, and by the thoughtfulness of her descendants, who kept the quilts and her story to honor her.  

The catalog has wonderful essays by several historians about quilts as objects that express everyday history and the lives of everyday people.  This concept has become a big part of my love of quilts.  It's one of the reasons I feel so good about repairing and preserving quilts.  I wrote about this in two of my previous posts: Thoughts About Repairing Antique Quilts and Textile Stories.  And I like the idea that today's quilters are creating this same kind of history for future historians to enjoy.

The three curators also produced some of my favorite books and videos - and I am deeee-lighted to add this one to my collection.  (I have no connection with their business, just spreading the word, especially for newer quilters who may not be familiar with their work.)

Schoolhouse Quilt

This Schoolhouse quilt has the kind of lovely and graphic look that for many people simply means "American quilt."

This poor old thing was is pretty bad shape, especially the lower row and edge.  I did both repair patching on the worst places, and a goodly amount of conservation backing and stitching where rips and tears were less dense.  You can see both in this photo:

Glowing Pineapple Quilt

This is a lovely silk Pineapple quilt.  There are lots of wonderful colors, still bright and clear.  This quilt definitely puts to rest the view of antique fabrics as drab and basically brown!  In the 1700s and 1800s, the pineapple was often used as a symbol of hospitality.  I've also sometimes heard this pattern called Windmill.

It's super large - about 81" x 92".  Older quilts, meaning earlier on in the 19th century, are sometimes quite large because they were made for very high bedframe with trundle beds stored underneath.

Most of the fabrics are silk, with a few velvets in the mix.  They are in pretty good condition.  All I did for the quilt was to vacuum it to clear out old dust and freshen it up.  Visit this post for instructions for vacuuming quilts.

Scrappy Bow Tie Quilt

Here's a 1950s era Bow Tie quilt.  I'm getting in a lot of quilts from the 50s and 60s now.  I guess that's a data point on the longevity of cotton fabrics.  The colors are still quite bright and happy.

There were a couple of fabrics that had really fallen apart, like this solid brown.  

Ancient Roman Mosaics

My friend Shauna recently spent several weeks in France.  Amongst her wonderful travelogue of photos, this one really caught my eye.

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:

Prize-winning Quilts of 1947

While poking around on the "interwebs", I found a fun vintage photo.  It made me smile, and I hope you'll enjoy it, too.

It is captioned:
"Two women examine the award winning quilts on display at the 1947 Illinois State Fair."

The four prizewinning quilts are:
Double Wedding Ring, Cathedral Windows, Grandmother's Flower Garden, Irish Chain

These are not at all unexpected as favorite 1947 quilts.  Wouldn't it be fun to be able to see them in  color?!  The photo also provides a fun little glimpse of ladies' dresses, hats, and bags of the time.

The photo is in the extensive collection of the Illinois Digital Archives.

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.

Crazy Quilt Embroidery and Family History

Here are some lovely embroidery details from a crazy quilt c. 1890-1900.  Family history has it that this quilt was made by a group of "church ladies", possibly a church sewing circle.  There are certainly some areas of stitching that are done with much more finesse than others, which supports the oral history.  The quilt belonged to the current owner's ancestor, Mabel Connelly, who was a farm wife in central Indiana.  The quilt has had a hard life, very mistreated for many decades.  So there is little left of many of the fabrics. The embroidery still has lots of life left in it though, and the artistry of the makers still shines out.

Lovely embellished initials, probably representing Mabel's husband.

Another set of initials, the person not known to the quilt's current owner.

James and the Giant Peach On Stage

Here are photos from Thin Ice Ensemble Theater's production of James and the Giant Peach.  Costume sketches and a discussion of the design goals are in a previous post.  More photos and costume portraits are on my website.

Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge

 The insects: Earthworm, Ladybug, Grasshopper, Glowworm, Spider, Silkworm, Centipede

Attic Windows

This quilt came to me for a wash.  The wash brightened it up, but did not remove the staining.  (The stains are more obvious in real life than in the photo.)  It is one of a pair of twin-sized quilts.  Sadly, the second quilt is pretty severely stained.

The pattern is called Attic Windows.  It's a great way to use scrap fabrics and one's imagination.  The scraps become little glimpses of the world outside the tiny windows.  Consistent shading of the window frames will create the illusion of depth.

It is one of those wonderful quilts that is dated.  The date is embroidered on one of the back corners - June 22, 1959.  So these windows also give us a glimpse into the fabrics available in the late 1950s.  This is particularly fun for me, because this is the world of fabric, as it were, into which I was born.

James and the Giant Peach

The next Thin Ice Ensemble Theater play is "James and the Giant Peach," based on the Roald Dahl book. We have 28 actors, aged about 6 to 11.  Here are the sketches for their costumes.

The bodice of Aunt Sponge's dress is stuffed with fabric.  The actress is wearing two bum rolls and 3 very long, very full petticoats that hang from shoulder straps.  The dress is now too full to zip closed, needless to say.  The back opening is secured with three elastics, and she will wear the matching apron as a capelet to hide the back.

The bottom ruffle of Aunt Spiker's dress was removed to make a straighter line, and leave her ankles showing to add to the illusion of height.  Black trim is being added to emphasize the vertical, and the ruffle will become a turban-like hat.

Tablecloth Update

In honor of spring - to which, in my part of the world anyway, we are all saying "finally!" - here are some lovely yellow roses and little purple posies.  This is the tablecloth begun by my mother-in-law Jeanie, which I am finishing in her honor.  I'm not an embroiderer really, so I am learning as I go.

Favorite Quotes #5 - Becoming an Elder

"It's no good getting old, if you don't get artful."

I found this quote somewhere, so long ago that I don't remember where.  The only note I have says that it is a Yorkshire proverb.

I like the double meaning possible here, for an approach to Life in general, and for pursuing creativity and expressiveness.  I find it most uplifting.

Having recently passed my 60th birthday, I'm finding myself latching on to words and ideas to help me grow into the next stage of my life, thoughts about how to be an elder, and hopefully, a wise one.

I find I'm thinking of this chapter of Life as a time to gather the results of my experiences and share them, and as a time to give more space in my schedule for "just being", with myself and with others.  And don't these goals have a place in both kinds of artfulness.

I'm appreciating the style of the Red Hat Ladies - having fun, breaking with convention, and togetherness.  It's just around the corner now.

Publishing my book stems from my desire to pass along things I have learned.  And really, now that I think of it, the cover is nearly in the official red hat lady colors.  Oh!  Maybe I am a red hat lady already!

The photo is of me and the life-sized doll I made for a production of "Arsenic and Old Lace". The doll played the double roles of the bodies of Mr. Hoskins and Mr. Spenalzo with a change of jackets and an added hat.  Old and artful, the both of us!

Dresden Plate

This is a lovely quilt from the 1930s or 40s.  The pattern is a variant of the Dresden Plate known as Friendship Circle, the differences being that the spokes at the four quadrants have pointed tops, and that the center circle has four graceful ovals.  These special pieces are usually made in an accent fabric, in this case, a pumpkin orange solid.

One issue to be solved for this quilt was patching some worn pieces.  I did a bit of color manipulation on these, because the whites in this quilt have become quite yellowed and the other colors have faded.  The easiest fix was with this black fabric.  Using the reverse gave it just the dullness needed to not stand out from the original fabrics.  (The little swatch shows the right side.)

Delicate Edwardian Dress

I did a tiny bit of repair work on this lovely, delicate Edwardian dress.  As always, it is fascinating to hold and handle these amazing old pieces, explore the construction details, and marvel at the age and quality of the fabrics and laces.

Cheery Cherry Wreath

This quilt was made near Millmont, PA.  It was purchased in the early 1990s on the farm of an Amish quilter who was selling both her own quilts and those made by other quilters in the area.

The quilt block is called cherry wreath.  I like the clean, clear look of the quilt, due to the great balance of color, and the expanses of white.  And as every quilter knows, stitching all those circles is a challenge and requires an experienced hand at appliqué.

Wooden Art

My recent estate sale excursion found this lovely little box, which I bought for my daughter who crochets.  The design is marquetry, inlaid with dyed wood, not painted.  And very sweet and springy, too.

As a child, I worked on several marquetry kits, and loved doing it.  I still have them - that's how much I enjoyed making them!  

Pewter Buttons

I was at an estate sale this weekend, and found several dusty, dingy cardboard boxes filled with dusty, dingy old sewing supplies.  In amongst them, I found these unusual, to me anyway, buttons.  So of course, I brought them home.  

My brilliant husband identified them as pewter.  We found out that in the late 18th and early to mid 19th century, many, many buttons were made of cast pewter.  These, according to some Q&A pages and blogs, were made for the folks who do historic reenactments.  These are easily identifiable as reproductions and not originals, because the shank is cast on as one piece instead of being added after casting just the circle.  So, no Antiques Roadshow win for me this time!  I am still quite happy with the purchase and my new knowledge, don't get  me wrong.

These are Revolutionary War style, proudly displaying the initials of the new country.

Needlework That Tells Stories: Exhibit in England

While searching around for something else, I came across notice of this wonderful exhibition at the Time and Tide Museum (lovely name!) in Yarmouth, Norfolk England.  It's called "Frayed: Textiles on the Edge."  It runs through 2 March 2014.  I'd go if I could!

Here's the theme as expressed by Ruth Battersby-Tooke, the exhibit curator, on the exhibit blog:  "...we have collected people's stories as well as the objects .... that had relevance to the idea of making textiles as a therapeutic art.  Not only an occupational therapy, a meaningful and structured way of busying the hands to still the mind, but also a powerful way to communicate, a creative and expressive way to release an inner voice." (The photo above is from the exhibit blog.)