Grandma's things- Vintage Thingy Thursday

Vintage Thingy Thursday is hosted by Coloradolady. Please visit her site and see who is playing along this week.

(That's an Easter egg in the photo!)

Here are two little 'dust catchers' that were originally owned by my grandmother. I saw the blue one as a little girl in her house, and in the way of whiny grandchildren, I asked if I could have it. Of course was the answer. Oh I just loved that blue, and the painted flowers as a child. I thought it was the most beautiful little pitcher.

Well, time flows by, and some years ago now my grandmother passed away. She had moved into an assisted living apartment that was much smaller than the old house. There wasn't much left for my mom and her siblings to clean up and distribute. But, my mom picked up the little pitcher on the right for me, remembering the story of the blue pitcher and how much I loved it.

I don't remember seeing the white pitcher anywhere in her house. It is marked Japan on the bottom. These two sit on my kitchen windowsill.

I miss you grandma.

viridian

Bunk house or prairie braid quilt project

What a great stash-busting project!
Have you seen this kind of quilt pattern before? It's also sometimes called Braided Border. You work with long strips - adding light and dark fabrics to the end. Above is what they look like, rolled into a manageable size for the sewing machine.


This is what they look like unrolled and laid out side by side. You get a neat light and dark chevron pattern.

I am using instructions from Mary Ellen Hopkins A Log Cabin Notebook. Each individual strip is cut 1 and 1/2 inches by 6 inches - they finish at 1 inch wide.

Close up: What a great way to use up ugly fabric. Well, I thought it was pretty once! And you can mix contemporary and reproduction fabrics with 'vintage fabrics' from the 80's and 90's and it still looks great.

I won't post instructions here. I'm not sure I could write them clearly enough.

Bonnie Hunter has instructions on her web site and several different variations.

See her Pioneer Braid Border page. I am sure there are other web sites with instructions too.

Other than cutting many many strips, and thinking about lights and darks, this is a pretty simple quilt to make, which may be just what you need. I pull this out in-between other projects where I have to sew things in a certain order, or I have to carefully match corners.

I am also working on a pinwheel pattern with my real feedsack fabric - more on that later.

viridian

Vintage Thingy Thursday: a delicate hankie

Vintage Thingy Thursday is hosted by Coloradolady. Please visit her site and see who is playing along this week.

This is just a corner of a one of my many vintage hankies. I must admit yes, I do collect them!!! Coloradolady's post this week is about vintage purses. A lady would always have a pretty hankie in her purse, of course.

This one is delicate lawn fabric, a pretty lace border, and a most amazing petit point and embroidered group of fruit and flowers. Who could use this on a runny nose, yours or your child's? Maybe I would dab a tear from my eye, hearing a moving story.

Happy VTT, Viridian

Bride's Bouquet - current progress

As I said in a previous post, you have to really love this pattern (also known as Nosegay) to get even this far. (Here is an image of a full-sized one). I have these 5 blocks done, and I am making partial blocks to fill in the sides and corners. Then I am calling it a day. So many inset seams!

All print fabrics are vintage. It's the only way to get the look that I want. The reproduction fabrics are mostly 'too pretty', if you know what I mean.

viridian

How is Danette?

I've never met Danette. She lives in Haiti and made this potholder, which I purchased from the Haiti Peacequilts project, back in September 2009. Since the huge earthquake in Haiti I've thought of her and how she is surviving. I am sad to say I have thought less and less of the people of Haiti as time goes by. But I am thinking of Danette again.



I visited the Bennington Museum in Bennington VT in September 2009 to see the Mother quilt made by Jane Stickle. See this web site for more information on the quilt, and the book you can buy.

In the same gallery were two other antique quilts from the Museum's collection, and the flag flown by the colonials during the Battle of Bennington, which itself is pretty amazing. And, there was an exhibit of quilts and photos from Haiti, from Peacequilts. It was a very moving exhibit. Although time goes by let us remember the difficulties the people of Haiti face, and donate what we can.

viridian

Vintage Thingy Thursday: A creamer

I am joining Coloradolady for her Thursday party.

In a previous post of Dec. 3 2009 I described how I caught the tea cup/tea service bug, when I found a lonely sugar bowl from a child's tea set at a local antique shop with various vendors.

Last week I went back to the same place and looked for the same vendor. Lo and behold, the matching creamer was there!

Oh, this really made my day.

The bottom says "Handmade Handpainted Bone China" and "Royal Stuart - Spencer Stevenson England." It is in excellent shape.

Both now adorn my kitchen windowsill, where I can see them every day.

Happy Vintage Thingy Thursday!

Viridian

Quilter’s Roadtrip: Lebanon (OH) Quilt and Fabric Arts Show

Over a month ago I gave myself a treat and took the long drive to Lebanon for a quilt show. I was not disappointed, and here is a very very late summary. The show itself was March 5-7.

Featuring quilt exhibit, vendors selling quilts and other fabric art and supplies. Benefits Warren County Historical Society.

Red and Green exhibit: Inspired by 19th Century red and green quilts, 24 quilts made by members of The American Quilt Study Group. Also, a display of the Museum's red and green quilts.

From AQSG: “The purpose of the Quilt Study is for members to replicate, either exactly, or as an interpretation, a quilt of a particular style or period. In this way, members can learn from the textile the history, techniques, and perhaps something of the person who made the original.”

I’m sure they learned how patient the quilters were, how exacting the work is. My first glance at the exhibit: I thought they were small-sized antique quilts, and I was shocked that people were taking pictures of them, and the docents were not stopping them. That's how good they were.
Photos showing 4 of these quilts on display: http://americanquiltstudygroup.org/QS%20Exhibit%20Schedule.asp
Blog pics, showing work in progress:
http://www.allaboutapplique.net/2007/10/05/a-nod-to-history/

And the museum had some of their own on display. I just wish I could have gotten close to some of the antique quilts to really study them. Most were placed far behind a rope barrier.

I of course enjoyed visiting the vendors at this show and stimulated the quilt economy. It was also at this show that I saw a few quilts made primarily of double pink fabrics and white fabrics, the inspiration for my version of the Cheddar cheese and crackers quilt top, shown in this post.

I picked up a brochure for the AQSG and I think I'm going to join. Although their red and green project is done, I am inspired to pull out my truly antique quilt decribed in an old post and reproduce it, in its red and green glory. This is what it looks like after 150 years of hard use:

viridian61

Post #150 give away: results

And the winner is....

Anya!

I'll be contacting you shortly. Anya will receive the fabric shown in this post.

Thank you everyone for visiting this blog, commenting, even following. It is great to think my posts are being read by a few people at least! Have a happy, safe weekend. I have a vintage Easter postcard up on my postcard blog.

Viridian