What Should I do with Sunbonnet Sue?

In 2014 I shared a few of the quilts that I have from my mother's family.  When I wrote about rescuing quilt blocks earlier this week, it reminded me of this quilt:

My great-grandmother might have made this quilt.  My mom wasn't sure so we will just assume that she did, because my grandmother didn't sew.  Anyway, you can see that this quilt has some damage.  Most of it is towards the top of the quilt:

However, there are some holes as well as some mended/darned areas throughout:

There's a patch on the bottom corner:

My original idea was to take the top apart, get rid of the yellow sashing & border, and make a new quilt.  Now that I've seen the condition of the white fabric with the appliqued Sues, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be better to simply cut around the Sues and go from there?  The Sues are in good condition and I'd like to save them.  The way this quilt is now, it will just remain safely tucked away in a tote in my sewing room closet and that seems like a shame.  If I salvage the good parts, it could be a new quilt that could be used or even a few pillows too.  I like the idea of working on something that my great-grandmother made; she died when I was only four so I really don't remember her at all.

So what would YOU do with this quilt?  I'd love to hear some other ideas!

Sunbonnet Babies

Around 1950 or so, my mother received this adorable quilt as a gift from her grandmother (my grandma's mother, Edna ).  It is so sweet that I think it's worth sharing here:

This is probably my favorite out of all the quilts we have.  The colors are wonderful--still so bright even though this quilt is 64 years old!  The workmanship is beautiful; I can only assume this, but I would guess that my great-grandmother did much of the sewing by hand.  Here's a closer look at the stitching:

I love how she did the applique in black thread to outline the figures.  And just look at the quilting...all I can say is Wow!  My hand-sewing skills are barely adequate at best and I can't imagine having the patience to do something like this. 

This quilt is sized for a child at about three feet wide by five feet long.  It's been well-cared-for and I'm so glad that we have it.  I imagine that my great-grandmother took great joy in making this for her only granddaughter. 

Thanks for looking!

Warm thoughts on a Winter's Day

Once again, it's a winter wonderland here in good old Des Moines.  Which means it's a great day to stay inside and sew and cut paper and maybe paint something!  Which is exactly what I'll be doing. 

When you live in a super-cold climate, quilting is a perfectly practical hobby.  That's doubtless one of the reasons that quilters have created quilts for hundreds of years.  They're beautiful AND useful, which in my mind equals perfection. 

In addition to snuggling up under a warm quilt to keep warm, I use quilts to warm up the house in a few different ways, literally and figuratively:

I decided to switch up the décor in our teeny-tiny dining room (aka the room where I store extra craft projects and miscellaneous stuff) from black & white to more colorful.  And because our dining room table is ugly, I really wanted to cover it up.  I also thought it would be a great way to show off this beautiful quilt I got last summer at a tag sale.  I love all the colors and prints here.  And since we don't eat in here, I don't have to worry about food stains.  Of course if we did decide to actually sit down at the dining room table for a meal, I'd remove the quilt first. 

Our bedroom is like an icebox in the winter, so I simply draped a quilt on top of the sheer curtains in hopes of keeping the cold air out and the warm air in.  I love being able to look at this gorgeous vintage quilt several times a day and before I go to sleep each night.  This is one from our family's collection, possibly made by my great-grandmother Hannah; it's backed with flannel, there's no batting, and as you can see, it's tied rather than quilted.  I've been looking through various quilt books trying to discover the name of this block--if you happen to know what it's called, please let me know!  I love the fabrics she used (from her own dresses and aprons?) and the colors are so bright and really, so modern. 

And of course, I have a few quilts on a quilt rack (a $7 thrift-store score).  I have a couple vintage ones that are "just to look at" and then the gray one I made that we actually use.  They go so nicely with my son's playmat, don't you think? 

For those of you in the area who don't mind braving a bit of cold, please stop by and say hello to me this weekend at the State Fairgrounds--I'll be at the craft show held in the Varied Industries building on Friday evening (5 to 9), all day Saturday (9 to 5) and most of Sunday (10 to 4).  I'll have lots of new journals and a bunch of pillows--this is their official debut!  And a quilt or two as well.

Stay warm!

Precious Patchwork: My grandparents' wedding quilt

It was just over 82 years ago that my grandparents eloped.  They were married on December 16, 1931 in Freeport, IL.  My grandpa had just turned 21 and my grandma just 18.  They got married, went back home (Hardin County, Iowa) and kept it a secret for four months.  Why?  Well, my grandpa told me that they didn't have a place of their own yet, so they both just continued to live with their mothers until they could afford a place of their own. 

I almost never found this out--it was very near the end of my grandpa's life when we were talking about it and he told me this.  My mother had not known this story about her own parents.  I'm the nosy one who likes to ask questions.  And I'm glad of that. 

Looking through our quilt collection last week, my mother informed me that this quilt was the one that my great-grandma, Hannah Price, made for her son and his new bride.  Just exactly when, we don't know, but I like to imagine that she started to make it about the time they announced their marriage. 

It's not a double wedding ring, but I think it is very beautiful:

Here's what the back looks like:

 

You might notice the binding looks a bit out of place--and also that it is the same fabric on the vintage quilt I blogged about last week; apparently my grandma had several quilts re-bound with this same fabric.  I love the fabric used for the back of this quilt.  Several of our quilts just have plain white backs or are backed with a blanket; perhaps since this quilt was for a special occasion, Hannah purchased fabric especially for the quilt back.  That likely would have been a splurge back in 1932; my grandpa told me of how they had very little money to spend during the Depression years and so I think it's safe to assume the same would have been true for his mother.  Note the beautiful quilting--the tiny stitches and the beautiful quilting pattern.  I suspect my great-grandmother did the quilting by hand, but that's just a hunch.  Maybe after some investigation I will be able to learn more about these quilts, and hopefully more about my great-grandmother as well. 

 

Looking at our vintage quilts has gotten me interested in learning more about traditional quilt blocks so I can identify these quilts.  Any help or feedback you may have is totally welcome and appreciated! 

Buried Treasure.

This is why I help my mom clean her closets.  Because you just never know what we might find. 

I have loved digging through boxes of stuff hidden away in closets ever since I was a kid.  I did quite a bit of it in my grandparents' house as a kid.  Back in the days before Smartphones and hundreds of cable channels, I had to entertain myself, and so sifting through old photographs and other items in my grandparents' house was my idea of fun.  I'd find photos and other stuff and then ask Grandpa or Grandma questions about them.  I learned a lot about their history that way.  I remember asking my Grandma about her life as a young woman which led to a conversation about the dress she got married in, which led me on a search through the closets and eventually down to the basement where I found the dress.  I was thrilled to have located such a treasure. 

I was just as excited Friday afternoon when I opened a plastic tote from one of my mother's closets and found this quilt.  I have never seen this quilt and my mom had completely forgotten about it. 

We know absolutely nothing about it.  My mother can't remember who made it and I, of course, am much too young to know!  Hmmm...am I interested in antique quilts because they make me feel young?

This quilt is totally different from all the other ones in our family's collection; no floral prints, no pastels.  The fabrics are mostly not cotton; I would guess there are pieces of men's shirts in here, which would explain the darker colors.  I suspect some of these fabrics might have been cut from old curtains.

The quilt is backed with a wool blanket of pale gray (sorry I didn't snap a photo) in excellent condition.  There are a few spots/stains and a few small holes on the top, but overall, the top is in good condition.  As you can tell from the photos, it's tied rather than quilted and there is not any batting between the quilt top and back; batting wouldn't be necessary anyway, since the fabrics which comprise the quilt top are heavier than cottons and the back is wool.  This quilt is heavy and no doubt warm. 

Now if only we knew who made it.  Our first guess is my grandfather's mother.  If she made it, that means it was made before 1952.   But we don't know for sure.  If only my mother had been nosier as a child and asked more questions.   

So, don't ever overlook those boxes in your (or your parents' or grandparents'!) closets or basements or attics.  You just never know what treasures might be hidden there.