Antique CQ blocks and fabric

I haven't finished anything in the last few days, so I thought I'd show you a couple of the antique blocks I've purchased on Ebay over the years. The first one is a nicely done single block, about 10" square.

This block is the very first one I ever bought. I'd been looking at antique crazy quilts and blocks on Ebay (as well as restoring them for some time through Rocky Mountain Quilts) and when I saw this single block for a reasonable price, I just had to have it. It was slightly unfinished; the space just around the little girl's patch was not done. Actually, it had been done at one time, judging from the stitch holes on the back, but someone, somewhere along the line, had taken it apart and not refinished it. I was able to finish it out, and now it awaits my further consideration. I fell in love with the chubby little girl with her tricky cat, and have seen this same motif on another quilt since I bought this piece. She might have been an embroidery motif that was printed in a magazine, or possibly a Kate Greenaway girl.

This fabric was also bought on Ebay. I've called it the world's most expensive fat quarter, though that may not be true. It's certainly the most expensive one I've ever purchased. It is cheater cloth; printed to look like a crazy quilt, right down to the spider and web (one of which includes a trapped fly). Sometime after I bought this, I finally got to buy Penny McMorris's book titled Crazy Quilts. Imagine my surprise and delight when I discovered, on page 24, a picture of this very fabric! It was made in 1886, according to the book. My piece was on the back of a quilt at one time; presumably on a crazy quilt, though I don't know that for sure. It does have tiny holes in it that are obviously tie-holes. I have since seen a whole cloth quilt for sale on Ebay that was done in this fabric. How I would have loved to see that in person!

Restoring a "sane" quilt for a change

This quilt was done for a customer through Laura's Home, the restoration business that I've been working with for the last 6 months or so. Laura sent me the last two crazy quilt restoration jobs, and this is one that came to me from a fellow that my sister worked with. I was happy to do it with Laura's help and her vintage fabric stash!
There was a hole in the center of this quilt, where 3 of the diamond shapes were missing, as well as two of the white squares and two triangles. In order to keep the blocks looking as well planned as they originally were, I removed 8 diamond shapes from one block and used 3 of those to fix the damaged block. Then I had to replace the 8, which I did with a vintage pink floral print. The four center blocks had either never had or had lost their batting and quilting stitches, so I replaced the batting and hand quilted all four blocks to hold it in place. Lastly, I put a new binding on it.



This is the finished quilt with all but the top row of blocks visible. It is a beautiful pattern, with some of the stars done in a variety of prints, which gives the impression of pinwheels, and some done all in one print, which looks more star-like. It was originally made by the owner's grandmother and even though it's a family heirloom, it is now usable again as a quilt.

Restoration and resizing of an antique quilt, part 2

This restoration project was on a beautiful but time-damaged pineapple log cabin quilt done in silks, with a crazy quilted border. The owner just wanted to save the good parts of the cq border, so I took it off of the main part of the quilt and rearranged it on a new foundation. That sounds so much easier than it was, LOL!
Much of the original embroidery was worn and had to be replaced, as well as the new seams created by "puzzling" the pieces together in their new form. The date, 1887, however, was still in good shape and on a good piece of velvet, so that is original, as well as maybe 30% of the rest of the seam embroidery.
Some of the fabrics used were ribbons, including the beetle jacquard that came in two color variations. One was black and orange, the other burgundy and orange. It was quite worn in spots, but I was delighted to find when I turned it over that it was vibrantly colored on the back side, just in reverse of the front. So several of the pieces I turned to the "back" side to get the brighter color and less worn look. It really gives this little quilt a pop of color!
The finished quilt will be a wall hanging, and it's just the perfect size for it. It came out to just under 24" square, with a pillowcased (or knife, if you prefer) edge. It still has its original batting and backing, which is a soft dove-lavender sateen. All together, I think this took me about 4 months (taking some time off this summer), but what a gem it turned out to be! I hope the owners will enjoy it for many many years!

Restoration and resizing of an antique quilt

This is how the quilt (left photo) started out; at this point I have made a few cuts to free up "good" pieces.

Some of the pieces are arranged on the new foundation fabric (upper right). Nothing is sewn down yet at this point. I won't sew until I know how much of the foundation I can cover. I'm shooting for about a 36" square. The large rectangular center panel is a painting on velvet of two deer; very lovely work!

Lower left is a close up of what will be the upper right corner of the quilt. The blue flowers are painted on a tan velvet piece and includes a monogram "M". Just under the red and green plaid is one of the seams I made, as yet unembroidered. Lower right photo is another close up of a salvaged piece. You can just make out the date, 1905, on the shredded purple piece, which was not salvagable. I asked the owner if she would like to have the date embroidered on the quilt again in a different patch, and she agreed. In the lower left of this photo is a faded drawing of two owls done on velvet; I so wished I could have worked that patch into the finished quilt, but it was too damaged.

This shows the quilt all pieced to the foundation, and it just reached the 36" square that I'd outlined! After the edges are turned under for binding, it will be just under 36". At this point, I have not finished the embroidery that will cover the edges of the seams I made in reassembling.

I used stitches that were already on the quilt; trying to match the original stitch length and placement as much as possible.


And here is the finished wall hanging! It is still 102 years old, so other fabrics in it may degrade over time, but for now, it is in perfect and very displayable shape.

(Thank you to Michaela for holding it up for this photo!)