Textiles and Memory

 

Good morning!

One of my oldest friend's mother lived in a retirement community about 90 minutes away.  I would often visit with my friend when she would go see her mother (who has now moved close by).  The retirement community was beautiful and one day, Caroline--my friend's mom--arranged for us to meet her friend Anne who also lived there.  

Anne was a treat!  She was a quilter and quilt collector and often lectured at nearby senior facilities on quilt history.  Caroline knew I would enjoy meeting a kindred spirit and we spent a lovely afternoon chatting about quilts and speaking engagements.

But one of the stories that Anne told us was unforgettable.  When she showed my a 1930s quilt, she said, "I have to tell you the story about this quilt."

Anne had lifted up the quilt while lecturing and was discussing The Depression when an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to her and yelled, "That's my quilt," and started yanking the quilt from Anne.  The interaction quickly became an incident and staff had to forcibly wheel the woman (still yelling, "that's my quilt!" out of the room).

It clearly had shook up Anne who in her late 70s.  I never forgot this story because often when we purchase old quilts, we often don't know the provenance of the textile.

But also so many quilts in a specific era can resemble each other.

Anne's experience was one that every quilt collector fears.  Textiles like fragrance and music can elicit strong memories.  Years ago, there was a quilt challenge that I think was on the Quilt History List.  The challenge was to create a quilt about one's first textile memory.  I've written about this before (here and here).

There are a lot of articles about textiles and memories, one of my favorite (unrelated to quilts) is here.

The pieces I've been working on the last two weeks are part of this genre.  I'll explain more tomorrow.

Have a safe and happy day!

Tuesday's This and That: April 9, 2024

 

Good morning!

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For years, I've been trying to explain the calming effect that quilting has on me.  When things become really chaotic, it isn't unusual for me to say to my husband, "If I don't get some time in the sewing room, there's going to be trouble."

This article in the New Yorker best relays the peace I get in the room.  Enjoy!

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Lucky's Latest

The boy is constantly trying to nip my hands.  We've tried a number of things to stop this bad behavior but now we are trying even more...and thinking about a trainer.  Why?

Because the Saturday before Easter--after another round of the biting--I realized that a diamond from my wedding ring was gone.  Yup, he loosened the prongs and it was gone.  I looked everywhere because I wasn't sure when it had fallen out.

Surprisingly on Easter morning, when Lucky was again going for my hand, I noticed something glimmering on the floor.  Yep, it was the diamond.  It was a thin narrow diamond but there it was.  We're just grateful he didn't eat it.  My family refers to this as the "Easter miracle."  And Lucky continues to nip my hands.  But now, I'm wearing a plain band even though the ring was repaired.

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Speaking of family, my brother continues to grieve the loss of Janet.  His been doing some "cooking therapy" and it appears that it is giving him the same calmness that sewing gives me.   He is cooking big meals and distributing the food to immediate family.  During the last years of her life, Janet would often instruct him on how to make some of her famous recipes.  My husband in particular has become a big fan and happily, I haven't had to cook much!  

I'm just so grateful that he has found something to do to keep him peaceful right now.

***

Wishing you a safe and happy day!

Happy Eclipse Day!

 

Happy Monday!

Happy Eclipse Day!

When I was a kid, my Dad brought home a welder's shield so we could view the eclipse with that on for protection.  Today I'll be  spending the time indoors with my dog who will be likely napping; his nap time is about the same time.  I've heard to keep animals in the house and protected during the eclipse.

This quilt is one of my oldest and it has a variety of names including "Harvest Sun".  It seemed fitting for today.

This quilt is circa 1845 and the quilting is wonderful on it:

If these aren't your cup of tea, here are two more sun-themed patterns:

Have a safe and happy day!

Bird Wars

 

Happy Thursday!

Two times in the last week, I was almost accosted by birds around our house.  I had to put my hands over my head and jump away because the birds were swooping so low.

The house sparrows are to blame.  Years ago, we removed all the bird houses in our backyard because the sparrows were killing the wrens, titmouses and other small birds (and their eggs).  We found the carnage all over the place.

Despite our best efforts, I recently found a deceased small woodpecker they had killed.  Now apparently they are going after the nests but they certainly chose the wrong species to prey on.  The robins are having no part of this and fighting back.  The cardinals will be fierce as well.

There's a reason that house sparrows are not the state bird of any state.  Nobody likes them.  They aren't native to North America and they weren't even native to England but brought in to that country at one point to control insects.  You can read about that here.  I read once that the sparrows came to the U.S. via hitching a ride on early explorer ships.

At this point, I'm a little paranoid about being outside with the wars going on (you can sometimes hear flocks of them attacking a bird in a bush or a tree).  My husband suggested I wear a football helmet but we all know with my luck, the birds would get stuck in the face mask.

Now I noticed the grackles in the neighborhood as well (another aggressive bird).  Sheesh!

What are you seeing in your garden?  Any bird wars?  If you have any photographs to share for Flower Friday, please email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com

Have a safe bird-free battle day and enjoy yourself!

Printed Feed Sacks

 

Good morning!

Today I'm going to chat about feed sacks again.  I know most people consider PRINTED feed sacks  fabric as a big part of sewing during the Great Depression.  Plain sacks were often used to make articles of clothing, quilt backing and even quilts.  Women dyed the sacks at home.

1936

It might surprise you to know that the prints we ascribe to feed sacks weren't made until the later part of the 1930s.   In the mid 1920s, there were gingham feed sack bags used by one company but the real prints came later.   The  Percy Kent Bag Company printed the first set of bags in 1936 or 1937.  

When I was looking at my printed feed sacks, this fact really hit me.  Many of the colors reminded me more of the 1940s and 50s.  Once the printed feed sacks hit the market, there were even swap meets during the 1940s where women could get more of the sacks they wanted:

There were all kinds of contests, fashion shows, and pamphlets that inspired women to use their feed sacks.

1949 Fashion Show

And a 1959 contest winner:

Here are some of the best online features on feed sacks that I thought you would enjoy:

From Piecework Magazine (here)

Take a tour through the International Quilt Museum here.

Have a safe and happy day!

Tuesday's This and That: April 2, 2024

 

It's a time to celebrate spring even if the weather is cool here!

What's the weather like where you are? I hope it is a little nicer than ours!

Here's an interesting story about a woman who weaves historically accurate fabric with old mills.  What an amazing woman!       

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There's a story about a Girl Scout troop who is making a huge difference although it is somewhat controversial.  Read here.  

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If you like modern quilts, you may be interested in the winners from Quilt Con 2024.  A gallery of them is here. 

                               Have a safe and happy day!                                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                            

Mystery Material

 

Good morning!

I pride myself on remembering a lot of things.  In my family, I tend to be "the memory" for my mom, husband, etc.  

This extends as well to my fabric and quilt collection.  Often while walking the dog, I think to myself, "there is the house that I got the Marimekko fabric, or the house that I got this quilt or that."

But the one thing I don't remember is where I got some of this vintage fabric.  It wasn't unusual for me to be handed boxes of fabric from friends and acquaintances but usually I can remember that fabric as well.

One of the mystery things in my stash are these blocks of what appears to be vintage sheets:

I remember thinking years ago that this was a strange thing to have been given.  Then a few years ago, using retro 1970s sheets for quilts became a fad, here's an example of an article that was published pre-pandemic.

But I didn't have just scraps, I had yardage as well.  

For years I've been thinking that some of the vintage fabric was just yardage...even the ones that felt like feed sack material.  I knew that feed sack material was also sold by the yard and I didn't think much about it.  

Since I had the vintage fabric suitcase open, I decided to work on a quilt with fabric that reminded me of my great-grandmother's kitchen.  I cut the quilt blocks and started piecing (more on that later).  It wasn't until the very end of the piecing that I realized there were stitch holes near the selvage.  

Wait, what?  Suddenly it hit me why I had 5 pieces of fabric that measured 35 x 42 or so (I'm conservative when I measure fabric).

They were feed sacks!  And after I finished the top, I began to measure and refold more of the fabric in the suitcase.  All of these were feed sacks:

And there were more.  I had to look really REALLY closely to see if there were stitch holes near the selvages.  Mostly I had to use a magnifying glass.

All told, there were 21 feed sacks.  And here's the thing that's mysterious to me, I've never been one to buy feed sacks or even fabric that resembled feed sacks.  I have friends who have whole collections of the fabric sacks (yes, I'm talking about you, Sue P.).  I just don't know that I ever bought any.   

I'm not sure who gave me this fabric.  Was it a friend or a friend of a friend?  Was some of this fabric included in fabric that my aunt found in my Nana's house?  I have no idea.  But I'm enjoying this stash and if you gave these fabrics to me, thank you.

Do you have mysterious material in your stash?

Have a safe and happy day!