The Vintage Quilt we Called the Cuddle Quilt

I loved this quilt at first sight for its dominant red and green colors.  Now it is in tattered rags after years of regular, rugged use.  (It's been folded away for 20 years.)  We've always called it the Cuddle Quilt because my young daughters spent hours on it, under it, or with it wrapped around them, sometimes with me holding them.  We found it at an antique mall in 1986 or 1987 and were too poor to buy it outright.  We put it in layaway and finally brought it home six or eight weeks later.

I didn't know much about quilts or quilt patterns then.  After close examination today I realized that each block has a red center, an hourglass block on each side, and log cabin-ish blocks in the corners.  (For anyone who wonders, the green in the photo below is most accurate.  Was it was called Nile green?)

When four blocks are joined, the small red corner squares form sized red squares similar in size to the center squares.  Except they don't exactly line up.  And the green cabin blocks don't exactly align, either.  Was this a scrap quilt?

There are an abundance of floral fabrics.  That red and white floral print is used again and again.

There are some non-floral fabrics, too.   I think the fabrics are from the 1930s-1940s.

In some of the blocks the hourglasses are made of the same fabrics, in some they aren't.

It's a hodge podge of colors (mostly pastel) and prints (mostly floral), all contained by the red squares and the green cabin-ish blocks.  A quirky quilt, don't you think?

Did you notice that blue and pink Kaffe Fassett-style print?

The stripes in the block blow are printed, not stitched or patched as I first thought.

There are irregular green strips in the corners, below.  Some blocks don't have green all the way around.

More stripes, not necessarily the same in one block.  These seem to be clothing fabric.

This quilt was tied with yellow string, mostly worn away.  Instead of batting it has a flannel blanket.  The fabric on the back is red. 

A fairly large hole on the back, above, had been covered and primitively repaired, with a second repair in the middle of that one and another at the corner.  Below is the repair on the front.  Some of the edges, too, were in bad shape and had been fixed.  Or not.

I loved this quilt when we bought it and I love it even more now that I know a little more about quilts.  But the question is what to do with it?  Lori's antique quilt block challenge comes to mind but I don't think there's a single piece of fabric in this quilt that's strong enough to withstand being unstitched and have fabric reattached to the edges, then quilted.

What to do?  What to do?  It's in such bad shape, but can I really throw it away?  What would you do with a quilt like this?

--Nancy.

Block Names / Layout Names, Non-Quilting Life

This quilt hangs in the restaurant of The Morgan House, a gift shop and tiny restaurant in Dublin, Ohio.  Isn't it delightful?!  And calmer that it would be if the quilter had used more colors.  I included it in a recent post and asked if anyone knew if the pattern had a name.  Several readers responded in the comments.  Thanks so much for looking and sharing, ladies!

• Julierose of julierosequilts and Jocelyn of Canadian Needle Nana called the blocks Dresdens.
  
• QuiltGranma (who doesn't have a blog) thought the pattern might be called Sun Rays.  You can see two examples of Sun Rays quilts here and here.  (I'm including links instead of photos so I don't violate copyright.)
• Janet of Rogue Quilter looked through Brackman's new book and suggested the pattern might be called Path of Fans, Chinese Fans, or Baby Bunting, among other names.  Images for Chinese Fans here, and Baby Bunting here.  Path of Fans below.
  
  


• Robin of I Like to Create thought her mother-in-law called the pattern Indian Trails.  I couldn't find any images for Indian Trails with arcs, though Google doesn't have every answer.  Edited to add:  Robin searched and discovered that the name of the layout of this block is Mohawk Trail.  Thanks so much, Robin!
  

As I was thinking about this quilt I realized that there are blocks and block names and there are layouts and layout names.  (Think about log cabin blocks and the variety of layouts possible, each with its own name.  And other blocks and layouts, too.) 

This is the block that makes the layout pattern for the quilt above.  Unlike the individual blocks for Path of Fans, these blocks have a little pie shape in one corner below the arcs and the "blades" of the arcs are irregular sizes.  Do you think she used paper backing to stitch the strips of fabric? 

I think the quilter took a somewhat casual approach to creating the pieced arcs.  They are irregular widths and the narrow edges are not placed in the same direction.

This is the layout for a larger block comprised of 16 of the smaller blocks.  I think the fan/arc blocks were about 6"-7" square.

The layout is similar to several of those named above even though the small fan/arc blocks aren't exactly like any of them.  Was the creator of this quilt a novice, or a very scrappy quilter with a limited access to fabrics, or was she just using scraps to use them up?  Whatever the situation, I think she created a beautiful and interesting quilt. 

Here are a few more photos of the blocks.  Such fun!  I find the quilting interesting, too.  It has a free-form, inexact look which I think compliments the blocks really well.

I'm glad The Morgan House shares this quilt with its guests.  It's a beauty and a treasure!

Aside from Quilting....
I've had the hardest time getting motivated to quilt or do much of anything else since coming home from time with my daughter and her family in early May.  She was having pains in her abdomen and went to the ER where they determined that she had gallbladder problems and would have to have surgery.  I've spent most of the month wondering if I would be called away spur of the moment or whether I'd have time to do laundry and put the mail on hold before going.  I learned on Wednesday that surgery is scheduled for June 16.  I have time to rest in preparation for lots of activity and to be prepared!

We had sorrowful event the Sunday before last.  When my daughter comes to visit she always brings her two cats, 4-year-old siblings Jack, a tuxedo cat, and Jane, a little grey and white.  On Saturday Jack kept raising his front paw.  My daughter examined it thinking his toenail might be broken or he had something stuck between his toe pads, but his paw seemed just fine.  He continued to raise his paw on Sunday until, on Sunday evening, his back legs became paralyzed.  It was alarming!  We immediately rushed him to the nearest emergency vet where he was diagnosed with a blood clot that caused saddle thrombus or arterial thromboembolism.  The vet said the recovery rate for this condition is about 5% and even if she chose treatment for Jack, it would be long, slow, and painful for him.  With two miserable choices, neither better than the other, she chose to have him put down rather than suffer.  He is at peace and without pain but here we are missing him.  Jack was a cat with personality, a boy who responded to "Hello" with a meow, liked to play fetch, and enjoyed being held like a baby.  It's no wonder my daughter is heart-broken. 

And hasn't this spring been crazy?  In early spring we had late-spring weather.  Then in mid-spring, we had winter weather.  These past few weeks we've had summer weather and now, yesterday and today, it feels like early spring.  What will our summer be like?!

I hope all is well in your home and with those you love.

--Nancy.

1876 "Solar System" Quilt

What does a teacher do in 1876 when she doesn't have a poster of the solar system?  If she's astronomer Ellen Harding Baker, she makes a quilt as a teaching aid for her students. 

Ellen Harding Baker’s “Solar System Quilt” (Photo: Wikimedia Commons), work in public domain.

This quilt measures 89" x 176".  The background is wool.  She used embroidery and applique to create the planets and stars.

Isn't it stunning, striking, phenomenal?  How did she create it?  Where did she lay out the fabric?  I wish I could have seen this work in progress.

You can learn more about the Ellen Harding Baker and her quilt at My Modern Met, at Colossal, and at Wikipedia.

Can you imagine creating such a large quilt?!

--Nancy.

Something New, and Something Old, too

I had several false starts on the background for this block and finally settled on the one above.  (Close-up below.) 

I still have to settle the placement of the pieces, including the leaves at the bottom, and trim the strips across the bottoms of the flowers, before I can start stitching the appliques in place.  The background for this block is 16½" x 19½", which seems huge.  I've never worked with such a large block and wasn't sure how to square it up.  I finally used the lines on my cutting mat.

This is a block of the month sew-along of Linda Brannock's "Flowers" quilt.  (I'm already behind a few months.  It feels like I'm always late these days.)  I love some of the blocks, others I could leave, but I thought there was plenty of variety to give me more applique experience without the challenge of creating the patterns myself.

I go through cycles of wanting to make my own patterns, then wanting to use ready-made patterns.  Both can be a challenge for me.  With the ready-mades, I struggle to use a pattern as is, often choosing to make changes.  And sometimes I find it hard to get beyond the colors the pattern shows.  When creating one's own pattern there is lots of trial and error to make it the way one wants or imagines, but then there's plenty of play and fun involved with that, too.

I went to a little quilt show a few weeks ago.  It was in a small town, inside a house that had become an art center.  There were perhaps two dozen quilts, most were folded over furniture.  The lighting was so poor that I didn't take photos.

The two best things about the show were quilter's yard sale (I couldn't resist) and this great old quilt which was folded over a railing at the front of the house.  The color in this first photo is most accurate.

I fell in love.  It was so scrappy and I thought the quilting was interesting, too, with its imperfect Baptist Fans.

The batting was very thick.  It was the kind of quilt I'd like to nestle under on a cold winter day.  Is super thick batting available these days?  It's interesting that the stitches were as small as they were considering having to go through so much thickness.

Also at the show they were handing out this flyer about folding quilts on the bias instead of with the grain.  I hadn't heard that suggestion before but I know that when I pull out a quilt that's been folded for a time it doesn't like flat as it did when it first came out of the dryer.  Nor do my quilt tops lie flat when I pull them out.  I'm going to try this diagonal fold and see how it works.

The next project I need to think about is which top to quilt and what backing to use.  I like to have a quilt in a hoop at home and applique to take in the car so I always have something to do.

I wish you well!

--Nancy.
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Ken Burns's Quilt Collection

Who knew Ken Burns collected quilts?  He commented that he makes films for others, he collects quilts for himself.  He has an exhibit at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, through May 5.

Here's a quick tour through some of his quilts.




And here's a slightly longer 5-minute video with commentary by Burns.



For more youtube videos of Ken Burns and his quilts on exhibit in Lincoln, look here.  In one of the videos (maybe one of the above) it shows that he stores many of his quilts by hanging them with several front to back in the same place.  I thought that was interesting.

I'm not an avid collector of antique quilts but when I find one I love and the price is right, it comes home with me.  I need to take some photos and share the ones I have.

Did you know Ken Burns collected quilts?

--Nancy.
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This Crazy (Spring?) Weather, Health, and a Few Quilts

I think winter and spring are having a mighty wrestle this year.  Spring wins one day, winter wins the next.  We've has snow three out of the last six days.  The weather men tell me that we're to have temperatures in the 70s for the next three days, then back to early spring-like temperatures in the 40s or lower and possibly snow.  It's a strange year.

A few years ago I realized that despite all the ups and downs of life, the challenges, difficulties, and disasters, there are a few things that are always true.  One of them is that season follows season.  Spring, always comes, no matter what.  True as it is, this year I'm wondering when spring will come.  That little mister groundhog Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this year thereby predicting 6 more weeks of winter, but nine more weeks is just a bit too much, in my opinion.  I love a long, leisurely spring with temperatures in the 50s and 60s for a month or two.  But not this year.  We'll probably jump from late winter to summer heat and humidity.

I've been way under the weather:  I haven't worked on quilts, haven't read others' blog posts, and haven't posted myself -- until today, which is probably a first and last for another few days or a week.  I have a flu-like viral infection, so no real help to overcome it other than time.  And it's taking its good old time, too.

Since I don't have any quilts of my own to show, I'll share some from a tiny exhibit at a local history museum.  Most were folded into glass cases which made them hard to photograph the small sections of the quilts that showed.  Still, I found them interesting.  Maybe you will, too.  No makers' names were included.

On the quilt below there were no diagonal seams in any part of the quilt, which I find amazing.

I thought the blue appliqued on green was a subtle and interesting combination.

I fell in love with this star quilt.  It looked soft, well-used, and comfortable.

The little quarter-triangle squares in these stars were the tiniest I've ever seen used on a full size quilt.  They were less than 1/2" square!  I wonder how many the quilter had to make!

I hope, wherever you and and whatever you're doing, that you're feeling healthy and happy!

Take care,
Nancy.
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Introducing Dottie

Dottie is a quirky little doll quilt I found at a thrift store in January.  She measures about 18" x 26".  I found her irresistible and brought her home.  When you find a quilt with so many polka dots what else could you call her but Dottie?

Other than the bow ties, the only repetition or pattern I can see are the red-dot fabrics between each block and the long strips of sashing between the rows of blocks. 

The hand-stitched blocks are approximately 2" finished.  Some are more rectangular than square. 

Lori of Humble Quilts uses the word "humble" to describe quilts that are less than perfectly made.  This is a humble quilt for sure.

In fact, when I look at some of the blocks and, really, the whole quilt, I have to wonder who made it.  Was it a child's early attempt at sewing bow tie blocks with five pieces of fabric (instead of the six commonly used these days) and set-in seams?

Or perhaps an aged grandmother with less than perfect eyesight made it for her granddaughter?  There are puckers throughout the quilt where one piece of fabric was gathered to fit against another.  Before rotary cutters and acrylic rulers cutting accurately was an art.

The ties feel like wool and have wool's fuzzy appearance.

The quilt was folded and probably laying where sunlight hit the fold.  There are sections of faded fabric.

As if red dots weren't enough, there are also blocks with turquoise dots.

You can see that some of the fabric had already been used in clothing.  It was unstitched but not all threads were removed.  There are several seersucker fabrics in the quilt.

The backing is a very soft flannel.  It is pulled around to the front to make the binding.  I suspect there is a layer of flannel between the top and back but without unstitching some of the binding I would have no way of knowing.

The stitches holding the binding in place are long with no attempt to hide them under the fabric.

I can't tell the age of the fabrics but I'm guessing 1940s and 1950s, possibly even 1960s.  Do you have a guess?

I haven't chosen a place for Dottie to reside yet.  For now, she rests on the back of chairs or lays on a little table.  She's not really my "style" of quilt but I love her for her quirkiness.

And that's Dottie.

Do you buy small, quirky quilts?  Are you sometimes unable to resist a quilt at a thrift or antique store?

--Nancy.