Dragged and bragged

I talked about my beloved thrift shop quilts at the Miami County Quilters Guild show yesterday - appropriately titled the Drag and Brag quilt show. What a fun show it was, with a little bit of everything: great new quilts, a few antique ones, vendors, lunch and finding a few old friends too. Here are a few quilts that made me think, "I'd like to try that."

Buttons on yo-yos, I need to make one of these. This is from a Christmas quilt made by  Ruth Fladung and Dorothy Franzen.

We all have some doilies stashed away - look at the bold way Ruth Fladung used them in this quilt she made with her granddaughter Leslie Franzen.

 

More bold vintage big stitch! This quilt was worked on a silky whole cloth in 1971 by Marilyn Davies. Her daughter-in-law Sarah Davies showed the quilt, in her memory....

 

I was pleased to find a memory quilt with a good story. Annarose Hart made this quilt for her brother Gus - from jeans, including some worn by their father when he was in a roping accident (good news, he survived.....).

I promised the Drag and Brag crowd a bibliography of my talk:

Gee’s Bend: http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/

http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/slideshow/index.htm

Anna Williams: http://www.equilters.com/annawilliams/index.html

International Quilt Study Center collections: http://www.quiltstudy.org/collections/

Lucille Young: http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/ideasv52/fryb.htm

Rosie Lee Tompkins: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/11/AR2006121100083.html

Eli Leon: http://www.elileon.com/

Robert Cargo essay about African American quilts: http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/7aa/7aa748.htm

An improv project: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2010/04/improvisational-quilting-tree-improv-placemats/

Pepper Cory: http://quiltflapper.blogspot.com/search/label/strange%20and%20wonderful%20quilt

http://quiltflapper.blogspot.com/2008/11/wahoo-back-on-blog-again-googles.html

Denyse Schmidt: http://www.dsquilts.com/

Modern quilters: Jacquie Gehring http://tallgrassprairiestudio.blogspot.com/2009/01/project-improv-wont-you-join-me.html

Bought to copy #2

We rescue quilts like this because we want to study them a bit. I've so enjoyed this raggedy piece. How I would have loved to have seen it in it's pre-washed and bleached-to-death prime.

Let's examine the structure of it. It is a medallion quilt - and the piecing is fairly regular, despite the profusion of fabrics used. Although even those blend together in an amazing way, thanks to a common colors used: lots of white, red and blue - mainly Hawaiian fruity style.

The center is a mix of nine-patches and 4" blocks. A 1 1/2" inch border surrounds it. Next comes a 5" pieced strip, then a wider border. That pattern continues. There are 2 pieced strips, and then a border of all the same fabric - the design is just so choppy you think it is more piecing. It works.

I love the bright bright colors. it measures 63" x 86". It is hand pieced and machine quilted.

Bought to copy #1

I acquired this quilt with the intent of copying it.
The border especially. I like the way the use of only two colors works.

Again, this is a quilt that was used and loved. There is considerable wear in some areas. I added a sleeve so I could hang it to photograph it. As I stitched, I admired how fine the stitching is on this quilt. It is hand pieced and hand quilted with tiny stitches.

 

The quilt measures 64" x 81". The pieces are 1 1/2" square.

A dandy pair of potholders

Obviously, as one who is downsizing, I am not acquiring quilts with the gusto I once did. But there is still something I will continue to collect - my beloved face potholders. It is nice to have an excuse to stop at an antique shop. We travelled across Missouri yesterday on highway 36, a trip we've been making for years. A sign of the times is that several of the antique malls we used to visit are now shuttered.

Luckily, one that has long been chock full of quilts remains open in Macon - The Weathervane. We stopped to stretch and take a quick look and - lo and behold - I found this pair of face potholders. Aren't they wild? The embroidery is done onto a crocheted potholder. I was very pleased to find them.

I found one more, but was satisfied with just snapping a photo of it - the eyes are so wierd. Now I wonder, was that admirable restraint or a mistake?

Sparks Double Wedding Ring

There is a Huge flea market in our region in White Cloud, KS. But to get to White Cloud from my town you have to pass through Sparks which hosts another huge flea market on the same day. One year I didn't get any further - and that's where I found this quilt.

It's appeal to me was the vivid colors in the fabrics used. It is quite lively, thanks to the use of some bold colors: orange, black, white. It's in good shape except for the chin whisker wear on both ends - someone clung to it fiercely as they went to sleep.

It is hand pieced and hand quilted, measuring 64" x 81". The rings are large, measuring 19" from side to side....another one going in the pile for the sale next weekend.

Quilted with embroidery floss

I bought this quilt at an antique shop in Peabody, Kansas a few years back. I know it's raggedy and a fairly traditional pattern but I was fascinated with how it was quilted. I have not seen this before in an antique quilt.

It is quilted with embroidery floss (4 strands), using what we call today the big stitch. The quilting follows the fan shapes, then rows of stitching run from the top to the bottom of the quilt - all 1 1/4" apart. Rows of quilting also run on the diagonal so the stitching forms diamonds. It's all stitched with varying shades of blue floss.

The fan and bow are machine pieced and appliqued onto the 12" x 16" block with machine stitches. I'd date these fabrics to the 1940s..... The entire quilt measures 70" x 80". It's been well used and well washed.  I'll let this one go at the upcoming garage sale too, now extended to run 2 days - Sept 16 and 17 (weather permitting)....

Here's one more peek at some of the interesting fabrics....