Quilt camp in a hotel

I highly recommend sewing in hotel rooms. I live with a frequent traveler. Occasionally, I go along on the travels. Hotel rooms provide the perfect backdrop for personal quilt camps.

You get the space all to yourself. After the maid makes up the bed, it's a great place to spread out a quilt project. There is always a nice iron and ironing board. Someone else vacuums up the threads,

This afternoon's project: stitching together 1930s blocks. I'm stitching blocks signed with names like Osa Nolder and Effie Jones and Della Barr....I'm musing about why these blocks never got stitched together. Did something go wrong? Did Fannie throw up her hands in disgust when Opal's block turned out a little wobbly? Did someone offend someone else, or run off with her husband? It's not going together perfectly but it's not THAT bad.

And what would they think of this? I'm sewing this together in a hotel room 80 years later, listening to free 1970s music on the internet courtesy of pandora.com.Talk about time warp....

Meanwhile, I'm occasionally checking email, reading Aunt Betty's story about my dear Grandpa dressing up like a chinaman (so politically INcorrect now but not in the late 1930s I bet) for the Layman School (Beason, Illinois) winter play.
And tomorrow: another project.....................

Stop by the Spencer in Lawrence

We got to the Spencer Art Museum the other day to see their summer show Quilting Time & Space, on display until August 29 in the museum's Central Court.

I was eager to see Michi Miike's Playing with Cloth quilt. I love it so much. The colors are somber but there is such wonderful improvising. I noticed most blocks have a large nearly square piece but then they just go all over shape-wise from there. Michi signed her quilt with embroidered stitches.

A nice surprise was a vintage crazy quilt by Lillian Hutter, dated 1880-1910, called Crazy Quilt with Hot Air Balloon. We especially liked the rounded tabs extending from the sides of the quilt.

 It is dated circa 1880-1910.

Call for Quilts

Every so often I get an email from Kansas City Star Quilts. They are putting together another one of their My Star series books. They send out a notice of the quilt blocks they are seeking examples of. If your quilt is selected to be in the book:
1. It's photographed and published.
2. You get a free book.

I always check the blocks and see if I have any quilts that might qualify. Usually, not.

Today, I have two that might (might!) be considered. OK, my britches quilt is NOT EXACTLY like the block they show. But it was a good reason to pull it out and photograph it to show you here.

I found this quilt top in Wichita several years ago. I am a sucker for quilts that are mostly plaids. I loved the mostly soft colors and the different ways this block is put together. The blocks measure 13" square and the quilt measures 77" x 85". It is hand pieced and Lori Kukuk machine quilted it in a spectacular way. The centers are circles, which will likely disqualify this quilt for the Star book. But isn't it a honey! The Encyclopedia lists these names for this block: Mississippi Daisy, Britches Quilt, The Breeches Quilt (Workbasket 1939), Dutchman's Puzzle and Dutchman's Breeches (Progressive Farmer 1949). Apparently the Star published it too.

I have more blocks that might fit the bill. Look at the rain drop block at the bottom. It looks like this, doesn't it? The Encyclopedia calls this one Endless Chain, True Lover's Knot, Martha and more. A friend gave me 30 blocks of this design last week. All have a name embroidered on them and one stitcher (Roda Hayden) kindly added the year, 1932. I think I'll stitch them together next week and see if they make the cut! Wish me luck.

And if you have a quilt with one of these blocks, here's how to contact the Star.

Scrappiest baskets

I found this quilt yesterday in Abilene, Kansas and I couldn’t leave it behind because:

It draws on the wildest scrap bag ever.
It definitely tries to follow a pattern but takes many liberties
I like the bold choices the quilter made.

The pattern is May Basket, a 1947 Kansas City Star pattern, according to the Encyclopedia. Those basket blocks measure 9” square. The total quilt measures 68” x 80”. It is hand pieced and tied. The orange plaid that is used for the sashing is also used in 2 side borders. The quilt is bound with wide pieces of fabric turned over from the backing. There is no batting. Some of the hand-stitched seams have pulled loose and I'll be repairing those.


The fabrics! I found one little scrap that was definitely from the early 1900s, lots of pieces from every decade from 1930 through the 60s. There is polyester and there is cotton, there are blends.

When you travel alone (on the longest day of the year)

When you travel alone, you get to stop and take a picture whenever you like. For instance -
When you admire the receding clouds of a quick summer storm (in Lawrence, Kansas)....

When you see a billboard that looks like it has been defaced by the Chick-Fil-A cows (along I-70 near Paxico):

When you notice a new pixelated Ike in Abilene:

At any Historical Marker you please!

I shopped too, more on that soon.....

A Strangely Unsigned Friendship Block Quilt

My friend Carol brought this quilt to sewing the other day. She got it at a garage sale here in Lawrence MANY years ago.

We fell in love with the fabrics. They are pure 1920s. But there is only one signed block on the quilt.

We are considering what to do with it - perhaps having people make a donation to sign it, with proceeds to go to a favorite local charity. Then it can go to a lucky raffle winner....we'll see.....

The block was called Cracker by Woman's World in 1931, according to the Encyclopedia. The blocks measure 4 1/2" and the total quilt measures 66" x 83". It is hand pieced and tied. It's in great shape and is very soft and cuddly. Carol thought someone should start using it.

Check out the backing fabric!

Mother's Oddity

Here's a classic one-piece pattern quilt.
The encyclopedia has a gazillion names for it. Some of my favorites: Double Bit Axe, Jigsaw and Mother's Oddity. I'd been calling it Apple Core. The earliest published example for this block is ca. 1875.

It was purchased by my mom at a church garage sale near Tucson, Arizona. I appreciate the great collection of '40s and '50s fabrics used. The colors are so bold and clear. It MIGHT be a charm quilt - I have it up in my dining room and have yet to find a repeat fabric patch.

It measures 72" x 84" and is hand pieced and hand quilted. The skilled quiltmaker finished it with scalloped binding brought forward from the back.