Welcome to Scrap Happy Day! I have a couple of quilts to share with you this time around. First off, this Shoo-fly and Courthouse Steps quilt that I pieced last year.
It ended up being about 60" square. The blocks are all six inches finished surrounded by a 3" border.
I haven't done a lick of piecing on the machine since I started on the Textile Tales books. Before that even. It's a little unsettling. We shall see what the future brings.
The other quilt I want to share was made some time ago. I have no idea exactly when or by whom. I purchased it when we were living in Texas from a sort of antiques shop. That would have been between 1988 and 1990 probably. It was intact when I bought it and have treated it gently but it has suffered since then. Somewhere along the way a mouse got to it and removed some of the cotton that was used for batting. I've enjoyed it folded at the end of my bed and over a chair back most recently.
Based on what I've learned over the years my conclusion is that this was made by an African-American woman, maybe in the 1950's. The batting is raw cotton. We were living in what would have been cotton growing country at that time. In fact, it still was when we were there, just not to the same extent I suspect.
I have discovered a repair that had been done before I purchased the quilt but hadn't realized was there. There's also at least one patch that had been pieced before being used in a block. Everything about this quilt speaks to my soul. It make me sad that I can no longer use it in its' original state. I have every intention of figuring out how to use and honor the parts of it that are still viable.
Scrap Happy Day is hosted monthly by Kate at Tall Tales from Chiconia. Not everyone participates every month but there's plenty of inspiration to be found in the list below.
Kate, Eva, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Tracy, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Dawn, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Ann, Dawn 2, Carol, Preeti,
Viv, Karrin, Alissa,
Hannah and Maggie
Your quilt turned out fabulous! Love the colors and the trim you chose... Oh thats terrible about that old quilt... We received quilts from my Mother in law after her passing that just fell apart.. i mean the fabric just decinigrated (well the spelling program won't give me the corrrect spellling i hope you know what i mean..) all that work just gone.. The wind is supposed to BLOW here today.. i can hear it already... COLD tonight after its been so warm... take care! deb
ReplyDeleteOld quilts like that are a marvel to deconstruct (I call them my rescue quilts). The stories those fabrics could tell . . . .
ReplyDeleteLove that you care so much about the old quilt. It speaks to my soul too - who made it, who did it comfort and keep warm? I would probably try spinning the cotton :)
ReplyDeleteI love all the bright colours in the quilt you've just made.
ReplyDeleteI like the block combinations! Great forensic work on the antique quilt.
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