Guest Blog

Doesn't this sound familiar...to receive a bag of odds and ends from someone who doesn't sew, but thought you would be thrilled to have yet another unfinished project?  But wow...this turned into an amazing finished project!!  Great job Linda!

From Linda:  At a family picnic in 2009, my husband's cousin gave me a bag of fabric and some finished quilt blocks that they had found when they were clearing up his Aunt's estate. His cousin had taken the blocks home and had forgotten about them until she came across them when she was cleaning out her  sewing room. I left them sitting in the bag for a long time until I closely examined the contents. I found 25 hand embroidered blocks that depicted the history of the United States up to the Indian Wars. The blocks included 12 American eagle blocks as well. 

The blocks were stained and not square and I looked at them for several years with some trepidation. I mentioned them in passing to Lee, and she suggested that I use a product called Restoration on the blocks. They cleaned up in spectacular fashion. They looked fabulous, but there was still the size problem, and not much of a margin to work with...what to do? 

In January, after much prodding by my husband's family to produce something from these blocks, I finally took on the project. Lee helped me select fabrics from Jo Morton's traditional prints with a bit of americana flavor. I was lucky enough to find the original patterns in the bag with the finished blocks so I had some idea of how the finished quilt was meant to be laid out. From then on, it was a matter of attempting to square up each block and cut the frame for each block individually, since the size isn't uniform and I didn't want to cut into any of the stitched designs. All in all, I couldn't be happier with the end result. 

And now for a little background, I have no idea when these blocks were made. I am guessing that the pattern came from the Kansas City Star and that they came via mail through the newspaper. Everyone who might have known when Aunt Alberta sewed these blocks has passed, so it will remain a mystery. If anyone has a clue of the origin of the pattern, please share it with us! I still have the patterns, and they  are still useable after all these years.

Special thanks to Two Thimbles and Nikki Crisp for the all the design help and the special quilting. I loved working on this project, and I hope to do another project soon from a different group of old blocks that I have lying around. Happy Quilting!

Tree of Paradise

The blocks in this vintage quilt go by many names, including Tree of Paradise and Tree of Temptation. It's an appropriate choice following our half square triangle event, don't you think? The blocks are approx. 20 inches square, and combine 2" half-square triangles units with solid squares. This is a two color quilt, combining tan and cream. It has a layout of 4 blocks by 4 blocks, with simple sashing and posts. The quilting is double lines, and this quilt was hand pieced and quilted, with machine binding. Enjoy!

Happy Stitching!

A Little History

So many new projects...sometimes it's nice to take a break and talk about something with a little history. This post's vintage quilt (owned by Laurie Bingham, a Two Thimbles customer) features poison green and double pink, in a two-color style that is very striking. Unfortunately, our photos have washed the colors out and changed their intensity. So a little imagination, please! The pattern features (9) 7" blocks which are combined into a larger block of 4 T's, attached at their bases and pointing outwards. Interestingly, only three sides of this project have a border. One unusual feature is that it was hand quilted with two different colors of thread, not a common occurrence in older quilts. The maker is unknown, and it was purchased here in Washington.

Pictured below are several angles of the quilt, giving you an idea of the intricacy of the hand quilting and the formatting of the T pattern. What a beauty...how many hours of quilting would you guess?

Happy Stitching!

The Whirligig Quilt

Here is a vintage quilt that we are featuring this month. The name of this block pattern is called whirligig, although it has several other names including a swastika block. It is interesting to note that this pattern and its popularity in quilts came into existence long before the symbol was politically exploited in the mid 1900's.

In this project, the blocks are 8.25 inches square, and they consist of flying geese units which are about 1 inch by 2 inches. The layout of the quilt is 6 blocks by 6 blocks. The size of the finished quilt is approximately 80 inches square. This quilt was hand pieced and quilted, which is quite the accomplishment considering the size of the project! When this particular quilt was purchased, it appeared as though it had never been used, and is estimated to have been created between 1890 and 1900.

Here are some close-up photos of the blocks. Can you imagine all the time that someone spent to create this beautiful piece of art? The maker of this quilt is unknown.

Happy Stitching!

Contrary Wife Quilt

As promised, for this post we are featuring another antique quilt. This project, completed by an unknown maker, was made from the Contrary Wife block pattern. For that reason alone, I think this is a great quilt, don't you?! It's estimated to date between 1900 and 1920 and was hand-pieced and hand-quilted. The size is roughly 72" x 74", with 6 1/2" square finished blocks. This is not a small quilt, which gives you an idea and appreciation of the time spent to finish a project like this. This quilt was purchased in an Oregon antique shop.

Here is a close-up of the Contrary Wife quilt and its unusual backing fabric, a large print in completely contrasting colors (this photo doesn't show it well, but it is a green background)!

Happy Stitching!

Vintage Quilts

Beginning this week...which happens to be the 150th anniversary for the beginning of the Civil War, we are adding a new dimension to our blog.

About once a month, we will feature a vintage quilt and some will be from the Civil War era. We will share what we know about its makers, history, and snippets of what we know about the quilt. Initially, we'll be profiling quilts from a private collection, but we may through in extras along the way.

This first little doll quilt is from the Churn Dash block. It's maker's name is unknown, and it's age is estimated from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. The size of the quilt is about 16 1/2" x 22", and the blocks range in size from 5 1/2" x 5", which could indicate that it was made from extra blocks or, perhaps a novice, still perfecting those quarter-inch seams? This quilt was hand pieced and hand quilted. It was purchased from an antique shop in Aurora, Oregon.

Here's a close up of the quilt.

Speaking of vintage quilts, here's a not-so-vintage version of an old idea. This pattern, called Vintage T from Galloping Pony Studio, was featured in our Anniversary Celebration in May 2010. You can see it made up in two different color ways and we still have a few kits and patterns left... and we even have a couple of those darling hand-crafted doll beds available!

Happy Stitching!