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The Plain Needlewoman

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

The  Plain Needlewoman

Tag Archives: reproduction fabrics

Fancy Work

09 Saturday Sep 2017

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

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Fabric Study, hand piecing, hand quilting, handquilting, quilt collections, Quilting, reproduction fabrics, Rug Hooking, scrap quilts


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

One Patch Quilts

10 Monday Apr 2017

Posted by mcinnesjanette 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

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

1890s to 1910s. Antique Quilts, Fabric Study, hand quilting, One Patch Quilts, quilt collections, reproduction fabrics, vintage fabrics

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

Doll Quilts

11 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by mcinnesjanette in Doll Quilts, Feed Sack, hand quilting, old fabrics, Quilt Collections, Quilt Stories, quilting projects, Scrap quilts, Sewing machines, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Doll Quilts, hand quilting, handquilting, quilt collections, reproduction fabrics

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Every so often I make a doll quilt or two. It is a nice change to work on a small project that can be finished quickly. Doll quilts were often made by children to teach them sewing and were usually made from scraps.

Log Cabin made from tiny strips

Log Cabin made from tiny strips

When I start a new project I cut and sew a few more patches that I need and these extra pieces often find their way into a doll quilt. This is also a good way to trial colours and techniques. Children love playing with the little quilts and spend happy hours tucking the dolls or teddies into bed.

Here are a few of my doll quilts – hope you enjoy seeing them and that you may be inspired to start a doll quilt for your collection.

Great books  for inspiration

Great books for inspiration

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Happy doll quilt making, Janette

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

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 mcinnesjanette in appliqué, Christmas, hand quilting, red and green quilts, stitching

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

applique, handquilting, hexagons, red and green quilts, reproduction fabrics

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

The Stars Are Shining Bright

13 Saturday Dec 2014

Posted by mcinnesjanette in hand quilting, old fabrics, old quilt tops, old sewing books, vintage quilts

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

hand quilting, old quilt tops, quilt collections, reproduction fabrics, vintage quilts

The Variable Star Quilt Top

The Variable Star Quilt Top

Star Designs are one of the most numerous and splendid of all quilt patterns. If you only made quilts featuring Stars you would have many beautiful quilts.

The Variable Star quilt top is a recent purchase from my friends and quilt collectors The Donnellys. Eileen and Bernie identify this quilt as a ‘Time Span’ quilt. The Donnelly’s date this top as being stitched from Circa 1880 to 1930. A Time Span quilt is a quilt which has been made over a period of time, and in this case it is over quite a long period. The fabrics appear to be dress cottons including some fabulous shirtings, turkey reds, double pinks, a 30’s dark maroon and some pretty florals, stripes and gingham.

Dark Maroon and floral print circa 1930s

Dark Maroon and floral print circa 1930s

Shirtings circa 1880s

Shirtings circa 1880s

Another from the 30s.

Another from the 30s.

I love the way the maker of this Variable Star quilt placed similar colours together making for a very strong focal point. This practice seems to be common in older quilts, whereas today we would place them apart.

Reds side by side

Reds side by side

In studying and documenting this quilt Eileen has noted ‘The patchworker has essentially used the same pattern when assembling the blocks but occasionally she seems to have reversed the pieces, and also altered the centre of some blocks. She has therefore created the impression of different block patterns forming the quilt. Perhaps, as it took so long to make she made some blocks without looking at the ones already constructed and just forgot which pattern she was following.’ Many of us can relate to this.

Variation in design

Variation in design

Also noteworthy is the pink setting squares and bright blue sashes and borders. The Donnellys purchased this top from James Carrol through the Quilt Loft at Groton, Massachusetts, USA in 1996.

When I first saw the Variable Star top I loved it immediately. I thought it was the same block that I had used in a quilt I had recently completed. However, on returning home and placing the two together, I realised that my design is another variable.

Constellation Star

Constellation Star

I had long admired this quilt from the book ‘In The Beginning’ published by That Patchwork Place in the Quilt Shop Series and written by Sharon Evans Yenter. Sharon calls this quilt Constellation Star and I think it is also known as Annie’s Choice. Which ever name you prefer it is a lovely design. I drafted the pattern for rotary cutting and machine piecing. I made it a fraction smaller to make use of my collection of reproduction fat 16ths. The lattice and borders are vintage fabric that proved difficult to hand quilt, but the colour is just perfect. As my block is smaller than Yenter’s I made 36 blocks, which is the same number as in the Variable Star quilt top.

In The Beginning

In The Beginning

Inspiration from the book

Inspiration from the book

The Constellation Star Quilt is dated Circa 1910. Perhaps there are similar fabrics as in the Variable Star.

I think my Constellation Star Quilt could be described as a ‘Time Span’ Quilt as well. It contains some vintage fabrics, including shirtings. It has been inspired by an old quilt from a book that was first published in 1992. I pieced and quilted the Constellation Star during 2013 and 2014.

Finished quilt showing reproduction backing fabric

Finished quilt showing reproduction backing fabric

Constellation Star prior to binding

Constellation Star prior to binding

May all your Stars shine brightly,
Janette – The Plain Needlewoman

Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron

05 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by mcinnesjanette in hand quilting, old fabrics

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

1930s quilts, reproduction fabrics

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The Smoothing Iron Quilt

The Smoothing Iron Quilt

This is one of my favourite quilts made from vintage and reproduction fabrics. The name of the quilt design was obviously inspired by the old irons that were heated up on the wood fired stoves. I remember my Nanna using these. Nanna Ivy Dawkins Myers, was a luddite and still used these irons up until her passing in the 1960s. Nanna always had two or three on the stove top with a piece of flannel wrapped around the handle. As one iron cooled, it was replaced with one from the stove top.

There is a lovely old folk song called Dashing Away With The Smoothing Iron. It commences with “Twas on a Monday morning……….A-washing of her linen and continues on through the days of the week until Sunday when the maiden is wearing her neat, clean linen. Even though we now have efficient washing machines and irons the cycle still continues.

Vintage laundry trolley and basket

Vintage laundry trolley and basket

I hand stitched my quilt and hand quilted it with my favourite quilting design – The Baptist Fan. The fabrics are reproduction, vintage and a couple of feed sacks as well. I pieced the quilt in rows and when the rows are joined the stars appear. Star quilts are a great favourite of mine too. A Seven Sisters quilt top is next in line for quilting. I will also be quilting this the Baptist Fan. This quilting design suits the old style of quilt making very well. It is also quite quick to quilt and makes for the most pleasurable hand quilting I know.

Seven Sisters - love this design -  next quilting project.

Seven Sisters – love this design – next quilting project.

Thank you for visiting, hope you enjoy the quilts and their stories.
Bye for now, Janette

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  • Cathedral Window Quilt circa 1930s
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  • Clarence Valley Coverlet No. 2

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Categories

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