An Amazing Day at an Auction ~ Quilt Rescue!

 Beautiful Windmills, 1930s;  lovely, fine quilting.  

Tried hard to win, but lost to the antique dealer.

What follows is a guest post by one of my readers.  I think of it as a cautionary tale about what wonders can be lost without a bit of research into the proper care of antiques.  She had the good luck and good sense to help rescue an amazing and amazingly mistreated quilt collection.  I am grateful to her for the time she has taken to share her story here.  (The photos were taken when the quilts were on display, before the "disaster".)

After reading this sad tale, I hope you'll join me in thanking her for giving it the happiest ending possible.

Fabric Choices for Quilt Repair

Just in case anyone is curious, here are photos of the individual fabrics that I auditioned for repairing the Lone Star quilt I recently wrote about.

Two greens:

Four tans:

Here are all six.  They are in the same order left to right as the photos above.  Which would you have chosen?

Glowing Lone Star Quilt

Here's a quilt that's definitely "one to write home about", or in this case, ha-ha, one to write a blog post about.

This 1930s beauty was sent to me for repairs.  The ring of green diamonds was pretty much totally in shreds, and the ring of tan diamonds was not far behind.  In the end, the owner and I decided to have me replace all the greens and just the tans that were in the worst shape.

That decision hinged on finding fabrics that blended well with the originals.  I ordered swatches from my favorite on-line source, Reproduction Fabrics, and took photos to compare them and pick the best match.

Paintings by Ella Gardner

My friend's grandmother Ella Gardner was a prolific painter.  And she also made quilts.  She painted lovely scenes of rural Wisconsin life, her Amish neighbors, and my favorites of course, quilters doing what we do best - making and loving our quilts.

There is an exhibit of Ella Gardner's paintings up now through  March 12 at the Steenbock Gallery in Madison, WI.  The Wisconsin Regional Arts Program has created a lovely page about Ella Gardner and her art. 

Quilting Party