Lucy’s Quilt

01 Saturday Aug 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in Feed Sack, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories

Tags

Farmer's Journal, Feedsacks, quilt collections, The Donnellys, vintage quilts

Four Petals made by Lucy M. Hauser

The Four Petals quilt was made in Kentucky by Lucy M. Hauser during the 1940s. It is hand pieced and hand quilted. The fabrics used in this quilt are feed sack and dress fabrics. The borders, lattice strips and setting squares are a bright pink and aqua. The backing is a feed sack print in a dainty pink floral which compliments the pink and aqua fabrics perfectly. The binding is of the same fabric and is machine stitched. The machine stitching is very fine indeed which indicates it was probably stitched on a treadle machine.

Detail of The Four Petals

Fabulous Feed Sack fabrics

The story of Lucy’s Quilt was passed onto to me by Eileen and Bernie Donnelly who have entrusted this quilt and it’s story to me. The story of The Four Petals quilt is reproduced here as told by Eileen and Bernie. ‘We were driving through West Virginia and Maryland on the last part of our trip.(October 1994) We were looking for old quilts and had been told by one of our son Stephen’s friends, who came from West Virginia, that “old” or Antique Quilts were no longer easy to find. They suggested we stop at some of the old general stores in the small country villages and ask. We did just that and were sent to see Mrs. Lucy Mae Hauser on her farm a couple of miles away. At this stage we we were right in the middle of the Amish country in Maryland, just near the West Virginia border. Lucy invited us in to show us what she had. She was absolutely thrilled to see us as she had not met Australians before. She told us she was 79 then she remembered she was only 76. She took us into a spare bedroom and pulled back a crocheted afghan to reveal a very bright quilt. “Railway Tracks” design. She said she had not sold quilts before, but would sell one to us. So we bought it, literally off her bed. Then she remembered she had some other quilts in the cupboard. She showed us “this one” and we liked it better than the one we had bought, so she agreed to exchange it, so we remade her bed.

Quiltmaker – Lucy Mae Hauser born 9 May 1920

This quilt was made mostly from Feed sacks and dress fabrics and she said she had made it in Kentucky in the 1940s. The design Four Petals, is very unusual and comes from the Farmer’s Journal which was first published in 1877. The design has probably been handed down through the family.’

The Label beautifully hand written by Eileen.

Feed sack backing

The instructions for reproducing this quilt were written by Eileen and published in The Australian Patchwork and Quilting Magazine Vol. 9 No. 4 February 2002. Hope you enjoy seeing The Four Petals Quilt and reading the story of it’s journey to Australia. It is wonderful to have provenance of the maker’s of old quilts, so thank you to Bernie and Eileen for sharing the story of this lovely old quilt. Thank you for visiting The Plain Needlewoman.

Old Sewing Manuals

17 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in Mary Brooks Picken, Mending, Sewing machines, Singer Sewing Manuals

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Home Sewing, Mary Brooks Picken, Old Sewing Manuals, quilts, Singer Sewing Manuals

By Mary Brooks Picken publs. 1946

When out and about on my op shopping and market adventures, I always keep a look out for old sewing and quilting books. I have gathered a collection containing some absolute treasures.

These old books provide a wealth of information. Amongst their pages you can find sewing techniques for clothes and home furnishings, fashion advice, etiquette and an insight into women’s roles from the era of publication.

A well stocked work box, a good light and a comfortable chair make mending hours a pleasure and garments take new life.

Book Covers, illustrations and photo plates all provide further insight into the lifestyles and choices for women during past decades when sewing was a necessity. Unlike today when most of us sew for pure pleasure.

The Singer Sewing Book by Mary Brooks Picken publs. 1949

Mary Brooks Picken was the foremost authority on home sewing during the first half of the 20th century. Mary Brooks Picken was the author of 91 books on sewing and craft and was the Director of a famous correspondence school of sewing. The Singer Sewing book was first published in 1949 with the first printing consisting of 50,000 copies. By 1950, 320,000 copies had been published.

Helpful Styling Advice from Butterick

Sewing for the Home published in 1941 contains patterns and information

Bright colours for a child’s bedroom from Sewing for the Home. Another Mary Brooks Picken book.

A later edition of the Singer Sewing Book publs. 1972.
Love the graphics of this cover.

Quilts – their piecing and quilting. Very limited instructions provided but obviously enough for the experienced needlewoman.

Sewing by Honor Gillott publs. 1973. Lots of mini skirts in this one.

I am sure these sewing manuals provided helpful information and inspiration to home sewers at a time when money was often in short supply and if a new outfit was required it was more often than not a home sewn outfit. This was certainly the case when I was growing up, and I often had to do housework for my Mum so she could finish a dress for me to wear out that night.

Thank you for stopping by, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

Long Nights and Short Days

04 Saturday Jul 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in antique quilts, handquilting, quilting projects

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Antique Quilts, Fabric Study, hand quilting, Quilting

Bee Pincushion and Watermelon Needlecase

Winter is well underway and the longer nights offer a great opportunity to settle in for a good few hours of hand quilting.

Antique Red and White Star quilt.

Seven Sisters quilt – hand pieced and hand quilted.

Peony Rose in French General.

Tax time is here. Receipts, financial statements and paperwork needs sorting and filing. It is also an opportunity to reflect on our quilt making and to take stock of our achievements so far. I keep a list of my sewing projects including quilts I plan to make in the future and quilts waiting to be quilted. Checking over my 2015 list I think at this point in time I have made progress. I finished quilting my Seven Sisters Quilt. This is heavily quilted with triple Baptist Fans, so the quilting took some time. The quilting on the antique red and white star quilt is going well. I am quilting the spider web design in the plain blocks. My next quilt in line for quilting is a scrap quilt, which I call Paths to Peace – this is my wish for peace in our time.

Paths to Peace.

A few other odds and ends have been finished and started. My sewing room has had a tidy up and I have taken stock of projects bundled into boxes. I am hoping to finish piecing my Peony Rose quilt before Winter’s end and will be looking forward to starting a new project.

Nellie’s Sewing box – A Quilted Crows kit – finished.

Jelly roll quilt – machine quilting in progress.

Scrappy Churn dash top finished.

New rug hooking project drawn up.

I am looking forward to a busy second half of the year. Wishing you all productive months ahead, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

Collecting the Pieces

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in Old Quilts, Scrap quilts

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

1930s quilts, Antique Quilts, Fabric Study, feed sacks, hand quilting, old quilts, The Donnellys

Basketweave Quilt circa 1930s to 40s

In times past when home dressmaking was a common practice and many a mother was kept busy stitching clothing for her often large family, scraps of cloth would have accumulated quickly from her endeavours as she produced dresses, shirts, nightwear and linens for her household.

No scrap would have been wasted and fabric would have been collected from worn out clothing, household linens and feedsacks. These fabrics would go into the scrap basket to be put to good use for the making of patchwork quilts. The ‘scrap basket’ represented the fashions of several years and would often include older pieces than what was typical of the era the finished quilt would represent. As any-one who has a collection of sewing scraps knows, we seldom get to the bottom of the basket. One quilt leads to another and the scrap pile continues to evolve.

Detail of Basketweave quilt showing a collection of fabrics both plains and patterned.

Whether the quilts demonstrate artistry in the arrangements of design and colour or the effect of the design is pure chance, scrap quilts made from a collection of fabrics will always be my sentimental favourites.

A beautiful feedsack backing.

Scrap Fans, Circle of Friendship or Around the World.

The Around the World Quilt, (which has many other names) came to me from the collection of Bernie and Eileen Donnelly. It is a beautiful quilt which they purchased at an exhibition of old and rare North American Quilts and Canadian Quilts by John Leach at South Yarra, Victoria in 1995. It was stated that the quilt was made by Old Order Mennonites from the area of Elora and Unionville in Southern Ontario Province in Canada.The quilt has quite a heavy batting, which is lovely on these cold Winter nights. Eileen commented that the quilter used an exceptionally clever arrangement of the small fans. The yellow setting squares in the sashing tie in with the yellow bases of the fans. The fans are appliquéd onto the block with very fine machine stitching (probably a treadle machine was used). The quilt is hand quilted and has a feedsack backing.

Feedsack backing.

Another quilt that contains many scraps and displays an artistic use of colour is this gorgeous Fan Quilt from the 30s.

Fans with red.

The quilt is very typical of the Depression era. When I purchased this quilt it had never been washed although it does have a sleeve for hanging on the back, so I presume it has been displayed at some point in time. The simple design of the Fan becomes a very sophisticated quilt with the placement of red in the centre of the nine tiny blades that create the fan. The quilting further enhances the effect created when the fans have been arranged by the maker to create an illusion of another design.

Detail of Fans and arrangement of blocks.

Hand quilting detail

My Scrap Collection includes many different fabrics, many of them bought at op shops including woollen material which I use for rug hooking. When I saw this darling little bear pattern in the Spring Edition of Primitive Quilts and Projects, I just had to make it. I found some heavy coating scraps in the wool trunk and made my version of Roly Poly. I just adore the paper hat.

Roly Poly.

Happy fabric collecting, Warmly Janette, The Plain Needlewoman.

Something Old and Something New

21 Thursday May 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Traveler’s Rest Star Quilt

Stripes.

Seersucker

Feedsack floral

Polka Dots

This quilt is a recent purchase on Ebay. It came from Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina and was found at an estate sale in Georgia. The star pattern is The Brunswick Star which is also known as The Rolling Star.This quilt had never been washed and the pencil lines marking the elegant quilting design were still visible. The notable features of the quilt is that it contains many feed sack fabrics. It is neatly stitched and accurately pieced by a skilled needlewoman.
The delightful variety of fabrics used by the quilt maker include seersuckers, feed sacks, polka dots, stripes, plains and geometrics. The 20 blocks making up the quilt are all artistically brought together with the pretty pink solid and the feedsack background fabric. The quilt’s backing is also plain, open weave feedsack fabric with the Kansas Flour Mill logo faintly visible. There are also some neat repairs on the back where some patching was done before quilting.

Open weave feedback backing.

The backing is brought around to bind the quilt. This quilt washed well and scrunched up delightfully after it’s first wash in probably seventy years. The women of the past made use of what they had and in this case it was feed sacks and dressmaking fabrics that were used to create a special quilt that is now a time capsule of the Depression Era.

Something New from my Workbasket.

A project I have been stitching slowly for sometime now is a Peony Rose quilt. It also contains diamonds so is in some way related to the many star designs which are constructed using the diamond shape.

Peony Rose in French General.

I have a collection of French General layer cake fabrics and they are perfect for replicating this lovely design that comes from the classic book – In The Beginning published in 1992 by That Patchwork Place. The inspiration for this quilt is Ferol’s Peony Quilt made in 1902. I am making the quilt larger than Ferol’s and at this stage I am at the half way mark. We have had a good start to our Melbourne Winter with rain (which we always need) and some lovely cold weather which is perfect for sewing. I have good intentions to complete this top over the next few months.

French General Layer Cake

Ferol’s Peony from In the Beginning

Cute Vintage Rug

I hope you are all enjoying creating something wonderful,
Warmly
Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

Postage Stamps and Strings

01 Wednesday Apr 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in stitching, vintage quilts

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

1930s quilts, feed sacks, hand quilting, old quilts, vintage fabrics

Cut and stitched from the last remaining pieces of the scrap bag, Postage Stamp quilts and String quilts represent the ability of our quilting predecessors to be able to make wonderful quilts out of myriad fabric fragments. These scraps gathered from the remains of worn out clothing, practical sewing done for the household and treasured pieces from the dressmaker’s basket became the quilters’ palette in creating beauty and warmth for their loved ones. Throughout the years of hardship brought about by the Great Depression of the thirties quilters kept busy with needle and thread, stitching quilts to brighten their lives and lighten their spirits.

String quilt detail

Fortunately many of these quilts have been preserved and we can enjoy studying the style and artistry of the makers who created beauty out of the scrap bag.

Not one but two.

Tiny pieces

Twin Postage Stamp Quilts.

Set against a white background and solid red squares surrounding the assorted patterned fabrics, these quilts consist of 5,670 seventh/eighths inch squares. Each quilt measures 58 inches by 82 inches. The fabrics are typical of the 1930s with a couple from earlier decades.

An earlier fabric included here.

A darker red amongst the pastels.

Some of the fabrics show signs of wear which indicate they were probably cut from used clothing. The quilt was skilfully machine pieced (more than likely on a treadle machine) using tiny seams. There were no rotary cutters or quarter inch seams in those days as that would have been considered far too wasteful. The quilts are simply hand quilted with neat, even quilting. Many designs belong in the category of Postage Stamp quilts and this lay-out of the squares using the red surrounded consistently by a floral fabric set with white can be identified as Jewel Box or Steps to the Altar.

Love the red.

String Quilts.

The maker of this quilt not only saved her strings and strips, but saved the thread from the feed sacks at her disposal, to stitch the strings onto newspaper foundations. The quilt consists of 288 blocks which were stitched by hand onto the foundation. The 288 four and a half inch blocks were stitched together by machine, once again probably a treadle.

Detail of block

There are some amazing fabrics used in this quilt including many feed sack fabrics, ginghams, solids, stripes, plaids and most pleasing to me red polka dots.

Polka dots.

The strings range in size from one quarter inch pieces to 3 inch at the very largest. This quilt maker would not have been following a pattern or instructions but would have worked freely and intuitively to create a vibrant design without letting one tiny string go to waste.

I have been inspired to make string quilts and continue to add to my scrap bag saving dressmaking scraps, recycling my son’s expensive pure cotton shirts,saving postage stamp size pieces and strings and strips from every quilting project.

String Pieced Star

Saving the pieces

Angels and tulips

The String Pieced Star and the Alice’s Tulips quilt, made in memory of my mother-in-law, are two of my attempts at string piecing. Needless to say there are many more quilt plans ahead.

Save the Pieces
Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

Strippy Quilts – A Study in Frugality

26 Thursday Feb 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in Cumbria, English Quilts, hand quilting, North Country quilts, old fabrics, stitching, Strippy Quilts

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Antique Quilts, Christopher Wilson-Tate, English quilts, Feedsacks, hand quilting, Strippy Quilts, The Donnellys

Strippy Quilt – circa 1850-70

Not in her wildest dreams, would the maker of this quilt have imagined that her quilt would turn up for sale at an antique market in rural Victoria in 2015. When I saw the quilt for sale on a vendor’s display, I knew immediately it was an old English Strippy quilt. The seller confirmed she had purchased the quilt from an Englishwoman living in Australia. The seller had owned the quilt for some years and had enjoyed using it on her bed.

On studying this quilt, I could see that it’s maker had joined fabrics together to achieve the length required and in one instance has used a different print to do so. This may indicate that the maker was utilising fabrics already available to her.

Two patterned fabrics joined to create length.

The quilt is constructed of eleven – 8 inch wide strips. There are five different fabrics used in this charming and humble quilt. The quilt is quilted in an all over zig zag design. I suspect it was quilted from the back as the stitches are very even on the back when compared to the front.

Back of quilt showing hand quilting detail.

I contacted Christopher Wilson-Tate, the owner of Antique Textiles Company, UK who is an expert on English quilts. On seeing photos of my quilt Christopher identified the quilt as a typical North Country Stripe from Cumbria/Lake District. The simple wave quilting is typical of this area. Christopher thinks the quilt was made about 1870 or possibly earlier. Thank you Christopher for your knowledge and expertise

Patches.

The quilt measures 84 inches by 85 inches and there is some wear on the vertical edges. A couple of little patches stitched onto the quilt only adds to it’s charm.

With clever joining of her fabrics and an orderly placement of contrasting colours this frugal quilt maker was able to celebrate her thrift and personality in a quilt that has had an interesting journey beyond its humble beginnings.

Fabrics Make the Quilt!

Travelling in time and crossing the Atlantic Ocean to arrive in Tennessee USA we have another Strippy Quilt that demonstrates frugality and verve. This quilt was purchased by the Donnelly’s (quilt collectors) in 1997 at the Donnelly House, Mountain City, Tennessee. It measures 86 inches by 87 inches.

American Strippy.

The assorted blocks that make up this quilt consist of stars, nine patch and album. The quilt maker was not constrained by size, fabrics or colours. Many of the blocks have small strips added to make them fit.

Yellow strip added to size up the block.

Detail of blocks used.

The blocks date from circa 1880 through to 1930. The fabrics consist of shirtings, dress fabrics and feed sacks. The strippy lay-out was achieved by joining the blocks with a hand dyed blue/grey fabric (probably faded over time) and then set into the strippy lay out with the pretty pink solid fabric.

The backing is the same dyed blue/grey fabric which appears to be plain feed sacks as a feint print of lettering and a feed sack symbol is visible.

Hand dyed backing

Block detail with hand quilting.

Frugal use of scraps

Eileen Donnelly named this quilt ‘She did the best she could with what she had’, which I think is a perfect name and what I now call the quilt as well. I think this quilt maker stitched a life time of quilting into a quilt that is a testimony to a frugal and creative quilt maker.

I would like to share this lovely print of a Plain Needlewoman working on a hexagon quilt.

Thank you for visiting, yours in quilting, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

A Trip Around the World or Two

22 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in hand quilting, old quilt tops, stitching, Trip Around the World, vintage quilts

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

1930s quilts, Antique Quilts, Fabric Study, feed sacks, handquilting, old quilt tops, old quilts, Postage Stamp quilts, Trip Around the World

Trip Around the World – setting one

Trip Around the World – setting Two

If You wish to take a trip around the world today, you only have to book a ticket with an airline and off you go. Paris, London, New York, Rome or Melbourne can be your destination.

To quilt makers of the grand quilt making epoch of the Thirties and Forties, a trip around the world would have been an incredible dream.

However, during this era ‘A Trip Around the World’ was made not by boat or plane but by cutting numerous tiny squares of fabrics and stitching these squares together to create quilts of great style and design. These quilts also demonstrate a sophisticated use of colour and pattern.

Wonderful use of colour

Tiny Squares – these measure 3/4 of an inch finished.

In Barbara Brackman’s Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns these two Trip Around the World designs are to be found.

This design is identified as Trip Around the World – – Aunt Martha and Home Art

The second design is accredited to Holstein and also called Trip Around the World.

My quilts represent examples of both these designs. In the book ‘The World of Amish Quilts’ by Rachael and Kenneth Pellman. The Pellmans state that this arrangement of squares was a favoured design predominantly made in Lancaster County, PA. from where it spread to other Amish settlements. The Amish call this design Sunshine and Shadows. These quilts were made in solid colours and nearly always featured at least one large border. It is also stated that ‘the squares are arranged by colour to form a series of brightly coloured expanding diamonds. Sometimes the squares are tipped on point to form a pattern of squares. The Pellmans also state the ‘the Sunshine and Shadow arrangement of squares worked in printed fabrics rather than plain, may be called Trip Around the World and is often made by non-Amish women’.

I purchased the Trip Around the World quilt from the collection of The Donnellys. They bought this quilt in Groton, Massachusetts in 1995 at The Quilt Loft from Dianne Reece. It is hand pieced and quilted. The squares measure 1 inch finished and the quilter has used a great variety of fabrics, including dimity, feedsacks, shirtings and early dress fabrics. The inclusion of the solid red and black in this quilt shows the quilt maker’s great flair for colour and design. The quilt contains 3,125 squares. The backing is a plain white homespun which displays the lovely hand quilting to great effect. The binding on this quilt is noteworthy as it is stitched around the edges of the tiny squares, creating a dainty scallop finish.

Binding detail

The second Trip Around the World Quilt in my collection was bought as a top from the quilt collector Jan Baker. I have basted this quilt and hope to start quilting it this year. The squares in this top are even smaller, three quarters of an inch finished. This Trip Around the World is an example of the quilt maker tipping it on point. The edges finish square so there is no fiddly binding to be done. This quilter came up with a nice border design for her quilt.

section of border

The fabrics in this quilt appear to be very well co-ordinated. The pretty, little floral patterns match up with a complimentary solid colour. On studying this quilt, I wonder if it is an early example of a kit quilt, which were available at this time. Well, I will have lots of time to examine the fabrics and think about the original quilt maker when I undertake the task of hand quilting it.

I consider myself extremely privileged to have two Trip Around the World Quilts in my collection. I hope you might be inspired to create your own, as one of my friends already has. Good Luck, Sally and Happy Stiching to you all. Janette, The Plain Needlewoman

With my quilt

Sailboats and Sunbonnets

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in Uncategorized

≈ 11 Comments

Tags

A Piece Of Cloth, applique, Fabric Study, feed sacks, hand quilting, old quilt tops, quilt collections, reproduction fabrics, vintage fabrics

Vintage Toy Sailboats

Beautiful old French monogrammed bonnet

Here in Melbourne, where I live Summer is well underway. January arrived in a blaze of heat. Hot, dry and windy conditions prevailed and we are once again faced with the prospects of bush fires. With temperatures in the high thirties, dare I say it is almost too hot for hand quilting. As I always have a few projects on the go, I turn to my hand piecing when the temperature soars.

My ‘Sail into Dreamtime’ quilt brings to mind a Summer’s day spent out sailing on our bay with cool breezes blowing off the water. The pretty fabrics in this quilt which are either reproduction thirties or vintage fabrics from this era, transform me to another place and time.

Sail Into Dreamtime – a quilt for Summer

I was inspired to make this quilt after being shown some old quilt blocks from 1939, that were signed and dated. I drafted my pattern from the original blocks and made 36 sailboat blocks using fabrics from my collection. The quilt is machine pieced and hand quilted.

Detail of fabrics used.

Sailboat block

Sunbonnet Sue quilts were very popular in times past. This quaint design evokes little girls in pretty dresses and bonnets playing happily in shady gardens. Studying these quilts transports me back to another time, when girls wore floral dresses, bonnets and cute little boots. It must certainly have been Summer.

Sunbonnet Sue quilt

This quilt is once again inspired by the wonderful quilts made during the Great Depression. This little girl is my own design and it is hand appliquéd, embroidered and hand quilted. Choosing the dress fabrics and co-ordinating them with just the right shades of solid pastels for the bonnets and boots was a wonderful opportunity to look over lots of pretty fabrics.

Another little Summery Sue.

Another gorgeous Sunbonnet Sue quilt

I purchased ten Vintage Sunbonnet Sue blocks from ‘A Piece of Cloth’ and made one more from the original design to construct this quilt. By setting it in a zig-zag setting I was able to create a good size quilt and preserve the beautiful work started by another quilter many years ago. These girls are appliquéd and finished with a black running stitch around the appliqué pieces. The reproduction and vintage fabrics worked well together. It is amazing how similar the reproduction fabrics are to the original.

Vintage Sunbonnet Girl

the eleventh block reproduced from the originals

I hope these quilts have carried you to another place and time. Either to escape the heat of Summer or to send you Sailing Into Dreamtime, perhaps looking forward to warmer days to arrive.

Happy Quilting, Janette, The Plain Needlewoman

Spiders and their Webs

01 Thursday Jan 2015

Posted by mcinnesjanette in old fabrics, old quilt tops, Spider Webs, vintage quilts

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Antique Quilts, Fabric Study, handquilting, old quilt tops, quilt collections, vintage quilts

Turkey Red and White Star Quilt

This quilt is another Variable Star pattern. It was probably made late 1890s or early at the turn of the 20th Century. I purchased the top from the quilt collector Jan Baker in 2009. This quilt is basted and is next in line for hand quilting. I am quilting my Seven Sisters quilt at the moment and have a long way to go on this quilting project just yet.

I was taking this photo of the quilt to post on a Facebook page and as I took the photo a spider crawled out from the folded quilt. Can you see it in the photo? As I am not afraid of spiders and never kill them (it is bad luck) I caught it and placed it outside in the garden. As I was folding the quilt to put it away, I remembered I had marked this quilt ready for quilting with the spider web pattern. The spider may have thought this was it’s home. As I mark my designs very lightly with a HB lead pencil it may not be visible in the photo. The Spiders web quilting design is a favourite of mine and quilts up beautifully. Can’t wait to get started on the quilting. As for the spider I shall look on this as a good omen for 2015.

Wishing you all a very peaceful, kind and wonderful year of quilting and happy days!
Best Wishes from Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

	mcinnesjanette on Marjie”s Star Quilt
	Lowana Radel on Marjie”s Star Quilt
	Jill on My Wagga Quilt
	mcinnesjanette on My Wagga Quilt
	Sherry on My Wagga Quilt

The Plain Needlewoman

~ Quilt Study, Sewing, Vintage Textiles, Collecting quilts and other old odds and ends.

Author Archives: mcinnesjanette

Lucy’s Quilt

Old Sewing Manuals

Long Nights and Short Days

Collecting the Pieces

Something Old and Something New

Postage Stamps and Strings

Strippy Quilts – A Study in Frugality

A Trip Around the World or Two

Sailboats and Sunbonnets

Spiders and their Webs