Sharing Some Fun Blogging

Stephanie Ann, over at her blog World Turn'd Upside Down, posted two really fun items last week.
Stephanie Ann is a re-enactor, historian, crafter, and cook whose blog has tons of great info on all these things, well worth a visit.

One -
Her new 1940s dress.

Photo: World Turn'd Upside Down

I just love the 40s styling.  It has some pretty detailed patterning and extra seams, but the end result is much more exciting than shaping the look just with basic darts.  (Be sure to scroll down to the end of the post.  Stephanie has included links to other folks who've used the same pattern, so you can see it in a variety of fabrics.)

I'm reminded of a dress I mended for Basya Berkman not long ago.  It's a 1930s-40s rayon.  I don't have photos of the whole dress yet, but here are a couple of construction details.  And I just love the fabric.  (You can see from the seam allowances along the zipper how much it's faded over the years.  I think I like it both ways, new and aged.)

Yep, I'm Crowing - Publicity Came Looking For Me

 Scrappy Bow Tie

They say that the best kind of publicity is a free write-up, and they say that it doesn't matter what the reporter actually says as long as she spells your name right.  Well, I'm sailing along with both of those today, and what she said was pretty nice, too!

I just got written up in an article in Crain's Chicago Business!  I am happy to say that I'm one of only seven "old-school artisans" in the piece.

The Fixers: Meet the Area's Top Artisans and Restorers

Mending a 1950s Party Dress

A lovely 1950s vintage, pink lace party dress....

 

....with a huge rip in the pleated net skirt panel.  It's this pleated panel that gives the dress its special styling.  (I stuck a piece of blue fabric underneath so the net shows better in the photos.)  One side of the net was torn more or less horizontally and about 18" up from the hem.

One of Those Amazing Coincidences

So, the other day, my husband and I were at the bank to sign some papers on a financial thingy.  We were ushered into a conference room and ---

The very first thing I saw was the chairs.  The chairs!  I whipped out my camera and took a couple of pictures.

For the last few years, I've been working on a series of quilts called "Something From Nothing", my own personal challenge project using decorator fabric samples. 

And........  The chairs are upholstered in one of the fabrics I used in one of the quilts!  Such fun!

 

The quilt is called "Something From Nothing -- Off Center".  It's 27" x 35".

In keeping with the challenge I set myself for this series, I used all the colorways of this pattern that I had, and I designed the quilt to relate to the pattern.  The appliqued rings and dots are all made with other circle prints, all from the stash of decorator samples.  The dots and the buttons I added are the same size as the design elements in the print.

Those chairs made my day, for sure!

For more on this series of quilts check out these previous posts:
--  the story of how the series came about
-- photos of some recently completed quilts
-- descriptions of the design process and step-by-step photos for two of the larger and more complex quilts - Something From Nothing -- Cleopatra's Fan and Something From Nothing -- What the Birds See

History Comes to Life on a Quilt - Part 4

Part 4.  A Window on Life in 1897

(Part 1 tells the background of a quilt inscribed with many names, and how I started my search for the details of its history.  Part 2 details some of the interesting family stories.  Part 3 tells a long story about three intertwined families.)

In general, I'm noticing that many households included more than our typical nuclear families.  It becomes clear pretty quickly that most families took in extended family members when the need arose, single or widowed aunts and uncles and parents, for example.  Many households took in boarders, and many hired servants, often recently arrived from Ireland, especially during the early childbearing years.  Hardly anyone lived alone.

History Comes to Life on a Quilt - Part 3

Part 3.  Three Intertwined Families

 

(Part 1 tells the background of a quilt inscribed with many names, and how I started my search for the details of its history.  Part 2 details some of the interesting family stories.)

Here's the most complex and hard to research story I've found so far.  Eunice B. Phinney nee Dyer had married Erastus Phinney in 1876 in Boston.  At that time, Erastus was 66.  This was his second marriage.  Eunice was 42, her first marriage.  By the time the quilt was made, Eunice was a widow and living in Melrose with Mary Ives Hersey, a spinster.

I started noticing the same family names in their ancestry.  It took a bunch of head scratching and searching, but I figured out that the two women were related.   Mary's mother, Mary Knowles Dyer Hersey, and Eunice were sisters - so Eunice was Mary Ives Hersey's aunt.  Then I found, on the 1900 census, that Nehemiah Mayo Dyer was also living in their house.  I looked at some older records, and found that Nehemiah was Eunice's brother and Mary's uncle.  He was a Civil War veteran and captain of the US Navy, who moved in with his family members after his retirement.

History Comes to Life on a Quilt - Part 2

Part 2.  Stories, Stories, and More Stories

(Part 1 tells the background of a quilt inscribed with many names, and how I started my search for the details of its history.) 

Families with several children have been most useful for narrowing down the dates.  The Dorchesters, Chester O. and Edith G. nee Kimball, for example.  Their daughter Alice Jean was born in 1896, and her name is on the quilt.  Their son Kenneth was born in 1899 and is not on the quilt.  Similarly, Eva and Harry Thompson's daughter Virginia, born in 1891, is on the quilt, as is their son Kenneth, born in March 1897.

Between the Pickles (their story is in Part 1), the Dorchesters, and the Thompsons, I had pretty quickly placed the date between later in 1897 and sometime in 1898.  I will toot my own horn and say that my first guesstimate on the age of this quilt was late 1800s or early 1900s, or perhaps an older top that was finished some years later.  This was based on the old-fashioned, 19th-century-style penmanship being combined with the polka dot backing and ties rather than fancy quilting, which point to something a bit more recent.


Also, I found that the great majority of the names appear on census pages for a town called either Melrose City or Melrose.  So now, I am sure the quilt was made in Massachusetts, and can add that to the search criteria.

History Comes to Life on a Quilt - Part 1

This quilt was sent to me, in need of repair.  It's a special quilt, because all the white pieces are inscribed in ink with names.  I am thinking that it may very well have been a fund-raising quilt, since the names are all written by the same hand.  But there is no dedication or date, so there really is no way to know for sure.

The quilt has some tears at the edges, both on the front and on the polka dot back.  Most happily, none of the names are affected.

Favorite Quotes #9 - Chatter, Chatter, Chatter

Aren't these little crafty women just so sweet?  Heads bent over their needlework, a nice cuppa tea on the way.

They are an illustration for the poem "Shoes and Stockings" (in the book When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne, artwork by E. H. Shepard.)  The original artwork is pen and ink; the color was added by my mom.

My mom always loved a good, freshly sharpened pencil.  One of my coziest memories is cuddling next to her on a lazy morning.  She'd read a poem, and then I'd watch her color, bringing the illustrations to life, just for me.  Looking back now, I see one more indication that I was meant from early on to be an artist.  

Fans, Color Blocks, and Bricks

Today I am debuting the three new quilts in my "Something From Nothing" series!  (To read more about how this series works, see this previous post or visit the whole set on my website.)  This is a just-for-fun project, and I am definitely having fun!

Fans

31.5 x 31.5

Inspired by a little roll of four brocade fabric samples found at an estate sale.  The borders are the reverse of each of the fabrics.  I added some other brocade scraps from worn out clothing and a roll of wide purple ribbon.

The Tapestries of Stirling Castle

A friend posted a link to this amazing tapestry story.  There's been a 14-year project (yes, that's right, 14 years) to create new work based on the famous unicorn tapestry series held by the Metropolitan in New York.

The originals were made around 1500.  The new tapestries are being hung at Stirling Castle in Scotland.  James V is known to have had unicorn tapestries there (of some sort, not necessarily the ones at the Met) during his reign in the first half of the 1500s. 

The artists worked according to all that is known of the weaving methods and materials of the time.

The video is a must-see!  (Follow link at the bottom of the main page.)

(I continue to be fascinated by tapestries ever since my experience a while back with helping conserve one.)

Fun and Easy Crib Quilt

This perky crib quilt was brought to me for repairs.

 

The idea is so creative!  Absolutely everything is reversed from red to white - two-color polka dot fabrics, trims, ties, and ruffle.

19 Stars - Indiana Quilt Exhibit

Starry Knight by Ellen Anne Eddy

My quilt friend Ellen Anne Eddy posted an article about a new quilt show at the Indiana State Museum.

It's called "19 Stars: Quilts of Indiana's Past and Present", celebrating the state's upcoming 200th birthday.  Indiana was the 19th state to join the Union, and the Indiana flag features 19 stars.  So the museum is showing 19 antique quilts and 19 contemporary quilts from their collection, all with starry designs.  I love the idea of juxtaposing the old and new quilts to celebrate the history of the state.

Here are two video clips about the show.  The second one features Ellen's quilt, "Starry Knight".
historical quilts
contemporary quilts

I've always found themed exhibits and books the most fun.  They really bring out the variety and excitement of all the approaches to quiltmaking.

I first discovered how cool these shows can be in the 1986 book All Flags Flying.  It includes the 52 prize-winning quits from the Great American Quilt Contest "Expressions of Liberty" celebrating the Statue of Liberty's 100th birthday.  Some are very literal, some are very abstract.  My favorite happens to be the winner from my home state of Illinois, made by Sidney Allee Miller.  It's called "Freedom's Children," and is 72" square. 

(Photo credit, All Flags Flying)

The concept is unique and the execution is both folksy and technically amazing, a great combo! 

I Love a Good Coincidence

Remember this sweet baby quilt I posted about a couple of months ago?

Well, look what I found at an estate sale this weekend!

I think I squeaked out loud when I found it....

I don't have any intention of making this quilt, but somehow just had to buy the pattern anyway!  Really, how could I not?

And now, I can add the pattern name and info to the quilt's story:

Snowball

Such a lovely Amish quilt!  Here's a quilt with all the criteria needed to satisfy any Amish quilt collectors:

Colors are bold.  It is wool.  Piecing is precise.  Quilting is prominent.  Stitches are teensy.

It is quite large, and is backed with a grey striped flannel.

Magic Vine - Quilting Progress

I've spent a few weeks with relaxing sewing while watching fun things on Netflix, a very nice "spring break."

One project that's benefited is the vintage Magic Vine quilt top that I am finishing.  I started the quilting 25+ years ago!  I've only worked on it now and then, when I go someplace to demonstrate hand quilting.  After its most recent excursion last November, I decided to push forward and finally finish it.

My First Quilt - The Fabrics

Here are some photos of the fabrics in the first quilt I ever made.  You can find the story of making the quilt in the previous post.

Most of the fabrics are from the 1960s, and some are from the 70s.  Scraps are from clothing my mom and I made, the constant stream of aprons and kitchen curtains my mom made for the south-facing window, and scraps I inherited from a good friend's family scrap pile.

I am reminded of a quilt that a student brought to one of the first quilt classes I ever taught.  It was a simple 9-patch quilt, made in the 1870s or so by a 13-year old girl as I recall.  There was a map of the quilt with details of every fabric - Aunt So-and-So's dress, and so on.  One of the fabrics had this story:  The girl and her sister had been dressed in their brand new best dresses for an event, and then wandered off and did some strawberry picking.  The result, as you might expect, was strawberry juice stains that wouldn't wash out.  The mom made the girl put those stained patches in her quilt, as a reminder of the lesson learned!

My First Quilt - The Story

As a child, I learned to sew clothes from my mom.  We kept all the scraps in a cardboard box near the sewing machine on the bottom shelf, and she told me we would make a quilt someday.  She even collected some Aunt Martha quilt pattern pamphlets.

 

That's as far as she and I ever got, but the "someday" kept echoing in my head.  After college, while doing data entry on a primatology project, I took a little 6-week intro to quilting class.  I made a pillow. I was needing something colorful and handy to entertain myself while "waiting" for the huge "mainframe" computer to return my "output".  Ancient concepts now.  The year was 1978.

American History Quilt, 1937

I came across this wonderful quilt in my surfing today.

It was made and signed in 1937 by Camille Nixdorf Phelan.  There is a map of the US as it was in 1937: 48 states.  Landmarks and personalities are embroidered in the states.  The map is surrounded by a further 150 portraits of famous people - including Presidents, First Ladies, and herself as quiltmaker, 50 further landmarks, maps of 4 US territories.

Camille was born in 1882 in Missouri, and moved to Oklahoma after her marriage in 1900.  She became famous for her Oklahoma Historical Quilt that was displayed at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.  Here's a bit about that quilt in her own words (from the Oklahoma Historical Society site, link just previous):

"Twenty 100-yard spools of thread were used.  Every stitch of the embroidering is my own work and I spent all my spare time for four years in actual construction. Two years were spent in research work before I began the quilt."

Shortly after her success with Oklahoma history, she embarked on creating the America quilt.  It was documented, but lost, and finally resurfaced in the 1980s.

A description is at Rare Book Hub.  A further description, bio of the quiltmaker, and detail photos are in a Bidsquare listing, where the quilt was recently sold by Cowan Auctions for $19,200.

Oklahoma Historical Society photo

Great Design, Great Stitching, Weird Fading

A friend was unexpectedly given this quilt along with some other Freecycle things she was picking up.  And guess who she thought might like to adopt it!

I love the design of this quilt!  The combo of center star, inner borders, log cabin surround, scalloped edge, feathered heart quilting - masterful.  On top of that, the quilt is extremely well-crafted.

Repairing Broken Lace

This is a lovely Edwardian dress with loads of lovely lace.  The lace was broken in a few places.  Here's how I repaired it.

Break #1
Petals had broken away from the borders, leaving the flower crumpled and fraying.

Before

I decided not to cut any of the dangling thread ends, so as avoid risking more unraveling.  I whipstitched the broken thread ends to the remaining lace.

When Mending a Dress is More Like Engineering than Sewing

Here's a photo my vintage clothing friend Julia took of me as I was puzzling out a repair.

The dress is (more precisely - was, and soon will be again) a perfect 1950s party dress, nearly all lace over satin.  The front panel of pleated netting has a bad rip in it.  Just at this moment I was happily realizing that my idea of where to cut and re-sew was actually going to work!

Some of the repairs I do for Julia are simple - closing seams, restitching hems, etc.  Some, like this one, are real challenges.  I'll post a step-by-step on this one when I get to the sewing.  Just thought I'd post a photo of me, because I hardly ever do.

In this photo, you also get to meet Julia's dress form, our good friend Ethel.  

A Quilt-y Excursion

I spent last Thursday through Sunday at a most enjoyable quilters' retreat.

Good times all 'round!  A recently retired friend has bought and furnished a house and is bringing folks up a few at a time to eat great food, visit the quilt and antique shops between here and there, make new friends, and sew and talk until the wee hours.  She is most talented at all these things.

Now on Pinterest

Two of my buddies, with whom I share and discuss business plans for our on-line businesses, have been urging me to join the Pinterest world.  I've been resisting having yet another "thing" to keep me at the computer.

At first, I also resisted having this very blog until both my kids told me, in no uncertain terms, "Mom, everyone who has a business has to have a blog." And here I am, so happy to be a blogger.  So I finally succumbed to Pinterest a few months ago.  After all, I already collect photos!

So, I'm introducing you to my boards.

The one I'm most fond of is called "Quilt Repairs: Before and After".  I'm proud of figuring out how to post two photos in one pin, like this:

"Art Quilts" simply has photos of my art pieces.

"My favorite posts from my blog" has basically the same things you'll find here on the blog under the heading "Featured Posts."

"Dated Quilts" is pretty fun, a compilation of quilts I have worked on that have inscribed or documented dates. I love these for the fabric history they illustrate so neatly.  You can read about these quilts by staying right here at the blog and using the label of the same name - Dated Quilts.

"Favorite fabrics and superior needlework" shows off the quilts and vintage clothing that have really added sparkle to the (yes, sometimes tedious) work I do.

"Textiles that tell stories" is collection of both antiques and new art by me, all pieces that are notable for the stories they carry.  That's the other category that makes this job so exciting.

"Looking through things" is a collection of photos I've been taking that may someday, somehow find themselves becoming an art quilt series.  The first one I took was a pair of chain link fences.  I found myself staring at them while I waited to pick my son up from something or other.  I loved the offset rhythm they created.

"Photos I dream on" is a collection of photos by me. I've been taking a photo nearly every day that speaks somehow to what's going on in my life or is just plain lovely, and sometimes both at the same time.  This board contains some of my favorites.  I began this "photo diary" as a mindfulness exercise last summer when I became an empty-nester.

"Artists and inspiration" are photos of works by other people that I have come across online, with links to more of their work.  Making this board turned out to be a really educational process - now I can see a pattern to what draws me in which I have never seen so clearly.

by Jude Hill, at spirit cloth

I can see already that the Pinterest outreach has already begun sending my blog some new visitors.  A shout out and thanks to Julia at Basya Berkman Vintage Fashions and Cheryl at Sk8 Gr8 Designs Custom Figure Skating Dresses for spurring me onward!

When I Grow Up

The blog that posted this photo is called Advanced Style.  These ladies are just the best inspiration ever. Yep, out of the box in definitely the place to be!