Category Archives: stitching

Australian Crazy Quilt

20 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in Australian Quilts, Crazy Quilts, hand piecing, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, Sewing machines, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts, Waggas

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There is no provenance on this crazy style patchwork coverlet, but it was found in Melbourne. The fabrics suggest it was made in the post war era, probably 1950s. This style of quilt making is documented in Margaret Rolfe’s books on the traditions and history of Australian quilt making.

The coverlet contains a time capsule of dressmaking and home furnishing fabrics from an era when most women stitched clothing for themselves and their families. The fabrics used include ginghams, barkcloth, stripes, checks, double knits, woven houndstooth and many bright floral and geometric designs. The border is a sunny yellow Cesarine. Cesarine was used extensively in the 1950s and 1960s.

The maker of this quilt carefully turned under the raw edges of her patches and hand tacked narrow hems before overlapping the irregular pieces which she stitched directly onto the one piece of calico backing.

Working on such a large piece must have been difficult at times. The coverlet measures 170 cm x 202 cm

The seams are finished with featherstitching. The border was stitched by machine to the right side of the coverlet, neatly folded over and hand sewn to cover the raw edge at the back.

Small opening shows the construction method used

It is interesting to study the back of the coverlet which is as neat as the front.

Front border detail

Detail of fabrics

Gingham, florals and geometrics

The quilt appears to have never been used or washed.

I am very happy to have another wonderful example of an Australian quilt in my collection. It is much valued. I am glad this quilt maker saved her sewing scraps and made this quilt. It provides a great opportunity to study the fabrics and designs of this era. Happy stiching, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

My Wagga Quilt

11 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Australian Quilts, Feed Sack, Mending, old fabrics, Quilt Collections, stitching, vintage quilts, Waggas

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Wagga quilts are an Australian style of quilt born out of hard times and limited resources.
Originally waggas or bush quilts were a hessian sack or chaff bag filled with anything that would provide warmth. They may have been covered with an outer cotton fabric.

During the Depression Era waggas pieced from woollen tailor’s samples, remains of worn out clothing and dressmaking scraps emerged. The woollen fabrics provided much needed warmth during a period when houses were unheated. My mother recalled her mother making heavy, woollen quilts from tailor’s samples. These were used by her brothers who slept on the back verandah. They were a large family and very poor. I’m sure they appreciated their waggas.

I purchased my Wagga on eBay. It was found at a church sale in Charleston, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales. It is in very good condition. I think it may have been placed in a cupboard and forgotten until the church had a big clean up. It appears never to have been used.

Reverse of Wagga

The quilt is double sided and has an inner layer. It is very heavy. The quilt is in very good condition. There is some machine stitching used to hold the three layers together. There is no binding, indicating the quilt was layered wrong sides together, stitched and turned.

There is a great variety of woollen fabric scraps used in the quilt: including tweeds, suitings, khaki army uniform, herringbone, plaids, stripes and checks.

Detail of fabrics

 

A few little moth holes, stitched down pockets and darning all add interest to this unique Wagga. It measures 165 cm x 150 cm.

Detail of a stitched eyelet

I admire the makers flair and technique in putting together all these pieces.

Australian quilts are rare and wonderful and I love having this one in my collection.

Thank you for visiting my blog. Happy Stitching – The Plain Needlewoman Janette

Fancy Work

09 Saturday Sep 2017

Posted by in Australian Quilts, d'oyleys, hand piecing, handquilting, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, stitching, vintage quilts

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My d’oyley collection includes many embroidered pieces worked by my Mother, Aunties and a Great Aunt.

Auntie Joan’s old d’oyley

This old d’oyley embroidered by Auntie Joan became the inspiration for my latest hooked rug design ‘New Beginnings’.

New Beginnings

I hooked the rug in hand cut woollen fabrics purchased at Op Shops.

The long, cold nights during Winter provided more time for hand quilting. I completed my Peony Rose quilt and added Prairie Points for a fancy finish.

Prairie Points pressed ready to stitch together

Prairie Points in place ready to add to quilt

The pattern for this quilt is from the book In The Beginning by Sharon Yenter Evans. I made Ferol’s Peony Rose in French General fabrics and used a vintage sateen for the lattice.

I have stitched two more quilt tops which are now ready for basting and hand quilting. I hand pieced the Old Fashioned Spools top and machine pieced the medallion quilt.

Old Fashioned Spools

Medallion Quilt

Spring has arrived here with an abundance of golden wattle and thankfully some much needed rain.

Happy Stitching and take care, Janette The Plain Needlewoman

French Coverlet

05 Monday Jun 2017

Posted by in antique fabric, hand piecing, hexagons, Mending, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Paper Piecing, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, vintage quilts

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Soft, muted colours were used to create this hexagon and diamond coverlet.

The maker had a large collection of the patterned and plain material available to work with. The fabric is a heavy weight cotton, possibly furnishing fabrics.

The maker arranged the plains and patterned fabrics to create a medallion setting and fussy cut her pieces. The colours in the coverlet are subtle and beautiful. The quilt is finished with a French braid. The use of the braid to finish the edges of a hexagon quilt is worth noting.

The quilt was pieced using the English paper piecing method. I found small traces of papers in the corners of the quilt, which unfortunately were too small to provide any information.

 

Detail of fabrics

Fussy Cutting

The quilt was purchased at an auction in country Victoria and it was stated that it was bought in France. The fabrics verify this. My research on the fabrics used in the coverlet suggest it may have been stitched between 1920s to 1950s. This is also the opinion of two textiles specialists that I consulted.

The hexagons measure 3.5 x 4 cm with an outside edge of 2 cm. The diamonds are a tiny 2 cm x 3.5 cm. The coverlet measures 220 cm x 150 cm.

There are some unravelled seams that need attention and are on my list of repairs to be carried out. Winter has arrived in my part of the world and it is perfect weather for stitching. I hope to finish quite a few quilting projects during the cooler months including repairs to some of the old quilts in my collection.

Centre of the coverlet.

Take care and Happy Stitching, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

One Patch Quilts

10 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by in antique fabric, antique quilts, hand piecing, hand quilting, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, Scrap quilts, stitching

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Diamond Quilt

One patch quilts have been a mainstay of quilters since people picked up needles, thread and scraps of fabric.

Squares, triangles and diamonds or more complex shapes such as hexagons and clamshells have been used time and time again to create sophisticated designs.

One patch quilts can follow a formal layout of scraps and colours or can be randomly pieced out of the scrap basket.
Either way they make wonderful quilts.

Some of the one patch quilts in my collection include squares, triangles, tumblers, hexagons and apple core shapes.

Diamonds circa 1960s.

I purchased this quilt top at an antique market and hand quilted it in the Baptist Fan design. The maker had some great fabrics in her scrap basket including one with the American State flags and the year the states joined the United States of America. The last two to join were Alaska in 1958 and Hawaii in 1959. So we can presume this fabric was purchased in 1959 or later.

The quilter used great skill in her fabric placement. Solid colours are used for the diamonds in one direction and patterned fabrics in the other direction.

Detail of quilt and vintage fabrics used for the backing.

Old Fashioned Spools

Work in Progress

This is a quilt that I am presently hand piecing. I prefer the name Old Fashioned Spools but it is more commonly called Apple Core or Double-Bitted Axe. I am alternating light and dark fabrics throughout.

Vintage Tumbler

This quilt top contains shirtings, mourning prints, florals, plains, stripes and checks. Two cheddar yellow tumblers and the use of red and white spotted fabrics brighten up the sombre tone of the quilt. The top is hand pieced.

Tumbler Quilt top circa 1900s.

1910’s Triangles

The maker of this quilt planned her use of fabrics carefully making sure she had enough of each one to stitch a row of triangles across the quilt. The fabrics used are typical of the 1910’s but the indigos appear to be from earlier. The indigos are patterned with white and cheddar designs.

Simple shapes make wonderful quilts

I hope you enjoy seeing some of my one patch quilts and may be inspired to use your scraps to carry on this lovely quilting tradition. Happy Patching and thank you for visiting, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

My Year of Repairing

23 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by in antique fabric, antique quilts, English Quilts, hand piecing, hand quilting, Mending, North Country quilts, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Red and White quilts, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, Stripe Quilts, Strippy Quilts, Turkey Red, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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img_5160Patchwork Strippy Quilt

 

First on my New Year’s Resolution List for 2017 is to carry our repairs and restoration on quilts in my collection that need a little TLC.  Armed with the excellent book ‘Quilt Restoration – A Practical guide’ by Camille Dalphond Cognac, I feel confident in tackling the intricate work needed to repair the quilts and to do so in such a way as to preserve their future.

img_4850Quilt Restoration – A Practical Guide by Camille Dalphond Cagnac

 

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This beautiful English Patchwork Strippy Quilt is a stunning quilt displaying a great assortment of scraps tied together with a Turkey Red Twill. The red has held up well but some of the patterned fabrics have worn.  Fortunately the white fabric is in excellent condition.

I purchased the quilt from the Antique Textile Company and Christopher Wilson-Tate provided me with information on the quilts provenance.  The quilt is from a family in Alnwick, Northumberland, circa 1880’s and is a great example of North Country English Quilting.

 

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Back of Quilt showing the cable quilting design.

To undertake the repair of the quilt I have cut squares of reproduction and vintage fabrics.  Placing right sides of fabric to butter muslin, I stitch around the entire patch.

I make a small cut into the butter muslin, trim the seams and turn right sides out.  I ease out the corners using a stiletto and press the patches.  They are now ready to be carefully appliquéd onto the worn square.img_4873

Butter muslin

 

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Squares cut and ready to sew.

 

img_4876Turned patches

 

img_4879Pinned and ready to appliqué

 

img_4880Stitched in place.

The final step will be to replicate the quilting design over the patches.

To quote Camille Dalphond Cognac “Scrap quilts are a joy to restore because the fabrics are chosen to blend into the totality of as many as a hundred or more colours.” With many hours of joyous stitching ahead, I hope to complete this task so this beautiful quilt will be preserved for many years to come.

Hope your stitching brings you much Joy.

 

The Lost Ships – circa 1890s

30 Wednesday Nov 2016

Posted by in antique fabric, antique quilts, hand piecing, hand quilting, old fabrics, Old Quilts, old sewing books, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories, Scrap quilts, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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img_4742Seventy-Two  Lost Ship Blocks are set diagonally with a red and black print to create this stunning quilt. The blocks are pieced using a different fabric design in each block.  These fabrics are complimented with a lovely cream and brown design.

 

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The quilt contains a block where the maker found herself short of one print and pieced a section of the ship with a different but similar colour.

 

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The fabrics used consist of florals, plaids, geometric designs and a few very unusual patterns.  The maker had a good supply of scraps as well as the red and cream.  The quilt displays 75 print fabrics. The scrap pieces may well have been dressmaking fabrics but obviously the red and cream was purchased for quilt making.

 

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The piecework and quilting is very well executed.  I presume this quilt was made by a talented and experienced needlewoman.  The quilt is finished with the quilt front neatly rolled over to the back to create the binding.   It is stitched in place with tiny, neat stitches. The backing is a plain homespun.  The quilt appears to have never been washed.

The quilt measures 66 inches by 84 inches and the  block measures just under  5  inches.

 

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In Ruth E. Finley’s book ‘Old Patchwork Quilts and The Women Who Made Them’ published in 1929, Finley refers to this pattern  “A pattern that was popular below the Mason and Dixon Line was called Rocky Glen though in the fishing villages of the Seaboard, where it was frequently employed, it was known as The Lost Ship.” So this is the name I shall use for this wonderful quilt which I am very happy to have to add to my collection.

Thank you for visiting and best wishes for your quilting endeavours, very warmly, Janette

The Plain Needlewoman.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piece by Piece

19 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by in Feed Sack, hand quilting, Mending, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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Two new additions to my postage stamp quilt collection arrived recently.

Pieces of Irish chain quilt

Pieces of Irish chain quilt

One piece is an incomplete Irish Chain quilt top. The maker had nearly completed the top when something caused her work to be discontinued. Fortunately all the pieces were kept together, including an incomplete row, many extra squares, the little cardboard template and a large piece of muslin.

Blocks and plain fabric for finishing the top

Blocks and plain fabric for finishing the top

I will complete the row, tidy up some of the piecing and appliqué work and finish the top.

Love the plain red.

Love the plain red.

I have enough of the plain fabric for the borders and possibly enough cut squares to add another narrow pieced border. The patterned fabrics include florals, plaids, stripes and novelty prints.

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The maker of this assortment of tiny pieces hadn’t progressed beyond stitching some of her one inch squares into rows.
The bundles of pieced sections were rolled into sets and a number was written on the last square to record how many squares are in the row.

Pencilled Number on the wrong side of fabric

Pencilled Number on the wrong side of fabric

It appears the maker was planning a particular design but the pattern is not clear to me. The basic square can be arranged in many ways. This could be a simple grid of continuous squares or a more complicated pattern such as Steps to the Altar or Trip Around the World.

Two strips of cardboard were sent with the piecework and there is a name written on it, but unfortunately it is too faded to read.

Faded writing

Faded writing

The squares measure 1 inch finished size and were hand stitched by an experienced seamstress. The fabrics are dress weight cottons and include novelty prints, floral designs, checks, stripes and geometrics.

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My two Postage Stamp projects demonstrate how the quilters of the Depression era were able to create beautiful quilts out of so little. It is my intention to complete the work they started – Piece by Piece.img_4419

Happy Quilting from Janette, The Plain Needlewoman

Sweet Old Things

22 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in Feed Sack, hand quilting, Mending, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Quilt Collections, Quilt Restoration, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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I have recently acquired a couple of very sweet old unfinished projects.The first of these is a house block quilt top. It is predominately made from feed sacks and contains plains, florals, plaids and one polka dot.

Florals and plains

Florals and plains

House block

House block

A deliberate mistake perhaps!

A deliberate mistake perhaps!

The quilt was not particularly well made and is slightly wonky. Despite this it has a certain charm and as I love feed sack fabrics and house quilts I couldn’t pass it by.

I am stabilising the edges by stitching narrow ribbon to the outside edges and easing the blocks onto the ribbon to bring them back to size.

Ribbon stitched to outside edge of each block

Ribbon stitched to outside edge of each block

I am hopeful that I will achieve a flatter, straight quilt that I can then quilt and finish.

The second project that I am working on is a collection of signature blocks.

Album Blocks

Album Blocks

The fabrics used to piece the blocks are typical of the 20s or 30s.Some of the blocks are complete with an embroidered name while others have been signed but not embroidered. The piecework ranges from basic stitching to an expert level. The blocks were not all exactly the same size. With a little trimming I have a working measurement of 12 3/4 inches. I am setting them together with lattice and setting squares cut from feed sack fabric and adding these to each block. When joined this will create a nice scrappy design.

Lattice and setting squares

Lattice and setting squares

On the design wall.

On the design wall.

The blocks are very charming and include interesting fabrics. These friends made use of fabrics they had on hand and the cream backgrounds include calicos, taffeta and a heavy linen.

Nellie ran short of fabric!

Nellie ran short of fabric!

While peacefully stitching these two projects I am reflecting on the lives of the ladies who made the original pieces. It is lovely to finish a quilt started many years ago. While contemplating the lives of these quilters I am also giving some thought to another little set of blocks.

More Feed sacks in these gorgeous blocks

More Feed sacks in these gorgeous blocks

I am waiting for inspiration of how to set these adorable blocks together into a quilt.

I will keep you posted. Peaceful Stitching from Janette, The Plain Needlewoman.

A Fine Old Quilt circa 1870

08 Friday Jul 2016

Posted by in 19th century Madder Fabrics, antique fabric, antique quilts, appliqué, hand quilting, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Quilt Collections, stitching, Uncategorized, vintage quilts

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Basket Quilt

Basket Quilt

This basket quilt consists of 30 blocks set on point with alternating cream homespun fabric blocks. The quilt is a large one measuring 205 cms by 230 cms. The baskets are hand pieced and the handles are hand appliquéd.IMG_4171

Madder dyed fabrics are used throughout the quilt – mostly copper toned browns, a purple and an orange. The border fabric is a typical copper toned Madder stripe.

Border stripe fabric

Border stripe fabric

Baskets were a popular design in the 19th century and baskets represented prosperity. The quilt maker appears to have been prosperous, as she had a good supply of yardage available to her. The quilt is extremely well made. The piecework, appliqué and quilting are of a high standard.

The quilting design is a simple but lovely design. It may have been adapted from a folded cut work appliqué design. I have three old Madder Red appliqué blocks in this design.IMG_4231

Hand quilting

Hand quilting

Madder Red Applique Block

Madder Red Applique Block

The backing is a plain homespun and the batting is an uncarded cotton.

The Basket Quilt came from California but no other information was available. As in so many instances there is no label on this quilt so the identity of its’ maker is lost in time. I can only wonder at the life of the maker and enjoy her wonderful quilt. Hope you enjoy seeing this old treasure. Happy Quilting, Janette