Tag Archives: hand piecing

Clarence Valley Coverlet No. 1

25 Friday May 2018

Posted by in antique fabric, antique quilts, hand piecing, hexagons, old fabrics, old quilt tops, Old Quilts, Paper Piecing, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories, Scrap quilts, vintage quilts, Waggas

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The maker of this coverlet clearly had a vision of her finished design. The hexagons which measure 2 cm on the outside edge were cut with a 2 cm seam allowance. The seams were neatly stitched into place so there was no wrong side of fabric showing.

The rosettes consist of 6 hexagons stitched around a solid colour hexagon.The hexagons measure 2 cm on the outside edge. The rosettes measure 10.5 cm. The maker stitched 340 rosettes and set them together in rows of 20 x 17. Two rows – row No. 7 and 14 consist of hexagons stitched in solid colours. These two rows add definition to the design of this lovely scrappy and colourful quilt. The rosettes are joined together with a whip stitch similar to the construction of a yo-yo coverlet. The finished coverlet measures 178 cm x 198 cm.

The coverlet appears to have never been used. It is beautifully constructed and a work or art. It is one of my absolute favourites and a cherished example of an Australian quilt. I purchased another coverlet from the same seller which I will write about in my next post. I can only speculate on the maker of this quilt but one thing that stands out to me is her great collection of scraps and her fine needlework skills.

Happy stitching, Janette The Plain Needlewoman

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

A Learning Curve

24 Monday Oct 2016

Posted by in antique fabric, antique quilts, Feed Sack, hand piecing, hand quilting, Quilt Collections, quilting projects, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, Uncategorized

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Curved piecing is considered more difficult to accomplish than geometric designs. But with so many beautiful patterns to choose from it is worth attempting to learn to sew curves. There are many fine quilting books available that provide step by step instructions for piecing the curve.

I have made a few curved pieced quilts including two Robbing Peter to Pay Paul quilts, a Double Wedding Ring and a Mill Wheel quilt. I have recently hand pieced a quilt in memory of my mother which I have named “Marjie’s Star”. It is a six pointed star set with melon shaped pieces. It was a challenging design but enjoyable to hand piece.img_4676img_4681img_4677

Amongst my collection of old quilts, I have a Friendship Circle quilt.img_4641

This quilt is pieced from woollens, old suiting fabrics, velvets and silk. The block measures 17 inches. There are 16 full blocks and 4 half blocks to finish one side of the quilt. The seams are stitched with feather stitching and the quilt is tied. The backing is a paisley flannel.img_4685img_4684

Curved designs were popular during the 1930s and 1940s. These included the Double Wedding Ring, Drunkard’s Path, Fan and Dresden Plate quilts. Two unfinished projects that I have recently acquired both contain curves. The first project consists of 14 Dresden Fan blocks pieced and appliquéd onto a white background and set with hot pink. Also included with my purchase is extra hot pink fabric and the start of a scalloped border for the quilt. There is certainly enough to complete this 1930s beauty.img_4665img_4664img_4666

The Maker of the second project hadn’t progressed very far along with her piecing. There was a paper pattern with the partial blocks which I have identified as Mohawk Trail.img_4667

There are pieced blocks, partially pieced and many wedge sections cut.img_4668

I have re-drafted the pattern and will stitch a couple of blocks to see if it is going to work out. These sweet old pieces have sat undisturbed for many years and may have to wait sometime yet.

As this year is fast coming to an end, I will add these projects on my list of quilts to finish in 2017. Meanwhile I am busily hand quilting, and hope to finish a vintage Trip Around the World quilt before we bid farewell to 2016.

Happy Quilting, Janette – The Plain Needlewoman.

Perfect Piecing

07 Monday Sep 2015

Posted by in hand quilting, Mending, old fabrics, Old Quilts, Quilt Stories, Repairing old quilts, Scrap quilts, stitching, vintage quilts

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LeMoyne Star Quilt circa 1860 to 1880

The maker of the LeMoyne Star Quilt was skilled in both piecing and quilting. The three inch LeMoyne Stars are constructed from eight tiny diamond pieces measuring approximately one inch in length. There are 345 stars in the quilt. Each star is accurately stitched with nice sharp points and the centre seams aligned perfectly.

Tiny LeMoyne Star

Tiny LeMoyne Star

The stars are stitched into a nine patch configuration and are set with three inch wide lattice strips. More LeMoyne Stars are placed as the cornerstones. Two plain borders were added with the remaining two borders made up of the lattice strips and star cornerstones.

Lattice and quilting detail

Lattice and quilting detail

The quilting is remarkable in both design and execution. The quilting consists of double cross hatching and feathers. There are 12 stitches to the inch, counted on the right side of the quilt. The batting is a lightweight cotton.

Unfortunately some of the fabrics used to piece the stars are extremely fragile and showing signs of wear.
This could be due to corrosive substances that were used in the dyeing process at this time. The white background fabric and the quilt backing are in excellent condition. I will eventually stabilise the weakened areas with tulle. Despite this problem the quilt is still a beauty. One can only wonder at the ability of this quilt maker to accurately stitch this intricate design with out the benefits of the sewing accessories available to quilters today.

LeMoyne Star Quilt

LeMoyne Star Quilt

Thank you for visiting, I am off to do some mending,
Janette, The Plain Needlewoman