Tag Archives: applique

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

Sailboats and Sunbonnets

07 Wednesday Jan 2015

Posted by in Uncategorized

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Vintage Toy Sailboats

Vintage Toy Sailboats

Beautiful old French monogrammed bonnet

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

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.

Detail of fabrics used.

Sailboat block

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

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 little Summery Sue.

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Another gorgeous Sunbonnet Sue quilt

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

Vintage Sunbonnet Girl

the eleventh block reproduced from the originals

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

Twas The Night Before Christmas

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in appliqué, Christmas, hand quilting, red and green quilts, stitching

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Twas the night before Christmas,
When all thro’ the house
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even a mouse.

Just a Plain Needlewoman stitching a quilt.

Hexagon Star Quilt

Hexagon Star Quilt

Happy Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore.

Thank you for visiting, Janette

A Rescue Mission

26 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by in appliqué, old fabrics, old sewing books, vintage quilts

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I was entrusted with this quilt which I have named Prairie Rose from the quilt collectors Bernie and Eileen Donnelly.

When I first saw this quilt I could see that it had been well made, the button hole stitching on the appliqué and the hand quilting with a perle thread was extremely well executed. Although faded over time the colours are still very pleasing – soft apricot, green and blue on the white background.

Prairie Rose quilt in it's original state

Prairie Rose quilt in it’s original state

There were two rather large holes and the curved blue binding was in tatters. The quilt was reasonably clean considering it has such a large area of white and had obviously been well used.

Removing the binding

Removing the binding

Preparation for repairing

Preparation for repairing

A soak in Retro Clean

A soak in Retro Clean

Retro Clean

Retro Clean

I decided to give this quilt a soak in Retro Clean to remove some of the stains and to generally freshen it up.
After a good soak in the old wash tub I transferred it to the washing machine and washed it on the gentle cycle. As it was a nice sunny day the quilt dried very quickly and I could plan the steps for repairing it.

I decided to cut off the old binding. This also removed some of the damaged areas which were near the edge of the quilt. There were two large tears remaining, that I thought I would be able to patch. Apart from that the quilt was looking very pretty.

this book contains a wonderful chapter on darning and patching

this book contains a wonderful chapter on darning and patching

Following the steps on patching in The Big Book of Needlecraft I proceeded to repair the damaged areas.

Patch placed on the wrong side of the quilt

Patch placed on the wrong side of the quilt

A neat patch in place

A neat patch in place

The next step in repairing the quilt was to re-do the binding. Rummaging through my collection of old fabric and trialling a couple of blues, I found a nice old, blue gingham. Gingham is a favourite of mine and it has a timeless quality. I cut many metres on the bias and machine stitched it onto the quilt. The hand sewing of the curved binding was a slow but rewarding process. I was very happy with the fresh look the gingham provided.

I now have a lovely new/old quilt. I think this quilt was made circa 1940s. It was probably a kit quilt with the quilting and appliqué placement pre marked. The original quilt maker chose thicker threads to appliqué and quilt with, giving this quilt another dimension in texture and colour. I haven’t been able to identify an exact pattern name for this design but I think Prairie Rose suits it very well.

Restored Quilt

Restored Quilt

I thank the quilt maker of the past who so lovingly stitched this quilt and I hope I have honoured her workmanship and I will enjoy having this quilt in my collection. Happy Quilting from Janette, A Plain Needlewoman.