Friday, April 29, 2022

Flower Friday: April 29, 2022

 Happy Flower Friday!

May is nearly here!  We've had cooler temperatures again this week.  We are in the midst of freeze warnings...and that is why we wait to plant until mid-May.  We are also under red flag warnings and could use a good soaking rain.  What is it doing where you are?


Diane P. sent this lovely photo of her Monsello Tulips.  The markings are extraordinary!!!

Below is Diane's phlox in bloom.  I love these flowers they just give the appearance of water sometimes with the different colors blending so well...


Libby's peonies and azaleas are ready to pop.  I would say she is quite a few weeks ahead of us but then she is in Tennessee!  Our peonies are just a clump of stalks right now, hers are about to bloom!


Lovely Azalea below!!!

Drew sent photos of his tulips in bloom from his farm in Maryland:


Wishing you a weekend of blooms and happiness!




Thursday, April 28, 2022

Needle Party!

 Bonjour!!!


Today's feature is a video that a friend shared with me.  It's about a half hour long and features the Paris textile show, Aiguille En Fete--roughly translated to Needle Party.  It's a nice little video especially when he gets to the quilts (which are quilts).

Here's the video!
Enjoy!

Tomorrow is Flower Friday and if you have anything to share, please email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com

Have a safe and happy day!






Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Pictorial Review Embroidery Transfer

 Good Morning!

Today's share is an old embroidery pattern from Pictorial Review.  I call it 7 toddlers and a bad bunny.   I am sure this pattern is from the late 19-teens or 20s.  









And lastly, the obligatory bad bunny!

I have seen the motifs of the children on many quilts (not the bunny).  The kissing babies apparently were very popular:


Wishing you a day of kisses and sunshine!




Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Tuesday's This and That: April 26, 2022

 Happy Tuesday to you!

Last week I wrote about Cathedral Windows quilts and Libby contacted me about one her mother made for her when she was young.  I love quilts like this.  Libby's quilt features many of her outfits from her youth and you need to see this quilt.  Please visit her blog here to view this wonderful piece!!!

***


Yesterday's post about Dandelions was quite popular.

Nann sent me a photo of a cross-stitch she did years ago.  It's really adorable and makes me want to cross-stitch again!!


Don't you just love this?  I do!

Most of you commented about the benefits of the dandelions to pollinators, especially the bees.  Wendy  commented that a few towns in Maine even prohibit the mowing of lawns until Memorial Day to give the bees a chance to fill their hives.  I should probably mention that the only dandelions I remove are the ones that sprout up in my flower beds.  Most of the folks in my neighborhood do the same.  It seems this community isn't as interested in the perfect lawn as in some areas. 

***


Remember when Karen Nyberg quilted in space?
This was many years ago but it was so wonderful to see an astronaut that loved to sew as much as we do (article here and here).

Well the retired astronaut has now designed fabric inspired by her experiences in space.  Smithsonian Magazine recently published an article about her designs.   You can read the article here and I saw that many of the manufactures have the fabric.

***

Have a safe and happy day!

Monday, April 25, 2022

Dandelion

 "If dandelions were hard to grow, they would be most welcome in any lawn."  --Andrew Mason

I find it difficult to sew in the springtime.  When the weather is good, I want to be outside whether it be walking, exploring the changes in the garden, or even working at cleaning out the flower beds.

I am always weeding and truth be told, I can't tolerate dandelions in my garden.  It's a losing battle in my neighborhood.  Right now, most of the lawns in our community are polka-dotted with the yellow flowers.

I know there is a value to dandelions.  My husband remembers early springs in his little Pennsylvania Dutch village.  The older women scoured the fields for dandelion leaves.  

"They filled their aprons full.  It was a rite of spring where we lived,"  he told me.

The leaves had to be harvested before the plant flowered, otherwise the salad would be bitter.  Even I remember the warm bacon dressing that is used on the salad.  We never ate dandelions (my mother said she did when she was young) but Nana served the dressing on endive.  If you didn't want to make the dressing from scratch like Nana did, you could buy (and still can) the special dressing from a local company called Wos-Wit which produced a variety of  Pennsylvania Dutch foods.  


A more common use of the plant is wine and I remember my first husband's family made it regularly.  I don't drink so I can't tell you what it tasted like.

Because my husband and I were talking about dandelions, I wondered if there were any older quilt patterns that featured the plant.  I mean obviously the weed was valued.

Even though only one was listed in Brackman's encyclopedias (a pieced one from the 1980s), I decided to do a newspaper search and I wasn't disappointed.

This pattern was offered by Winifred Avery in 1933.  I don't know much about this designer but I did find this post when I did a internet search.

The Dandelion Quilt, 1933.

The quilt features flowers, leaves, and the iconic seeds.

To be honest, I prefer the Nancy Cabot pattern published in 1937.  I like the simplicity of the pattern.


Dandelion quilts are popular now--particularly the ones that feature the seeds or "wishes".


I embroidered this piece many years ago and used an image from an old children's book.  I've never figured out what to do with it.

Wishing you a weed-free day!









Friday, April 22, 2022

Flower Friday: April 22, 2022

 Happy Friday Friends!

The garden is coming back and it is my favorite time of year.  I love the mix of greens and the new surprises that greet me each morning.

The false solomon seal is unfurling and the flowers are beginning to emerge:


And the ferns are uncurling and growing each day!



Some of the daffodils continue to bloom, defying the cold and the heat of the last week.

I am always concerned if my lavender will come back each spring and then I see green leaves emerging...


As much as I love to see the various textures of green in the garden, the flowers make me happy as well.  Like lungwort below and of course, bleeding hearts.



Have a safe and happy weekend!










Thursday, April 21, 2022

Tulip Time!

 


My sincere sympathy for those of you who had snow this past week.  We had sleet on Easter but it didn't last long and melted right away.  Friends tell me that it snowed a bit on the way to work Tuesday morning.  I think we have all had it with winter by now.

Tulips are beginning to bloom here in my neighborhood.  The flowers are a favorite with quilters--in the past and in the present.  There are so many patterns that I only am sharing a few with you today...

Summer tulips by Nancy Cabot.  I actually think of tulips as a spring flower but who am I to argue?


There are a variety of what is referred to as "Wind Blown Tulips"; it's very pretty:

Florence La Ganke designed a quilt pattern called "Tulip Time" but I think we all consider this a basket pattern.  Maybe it's a basket for tulips?


Here's a Bowl of Tulips that Mountain Mist offered:


It seems to me that a lot of 19th century quilters used tulips quite a bit.  This lady used a tulip motif on the border of her quilt top:


One of my personal favorites is this charming crib coverlet full of tulip blooms:



What's blooming in your garden?  If you want to share what you've been up to, email me at allentownquilter@gmail.com!

Have a safe and happy day!
















Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Attic Windows

 Happy Wednesday!  It seems like it is that time of year when we start spring cleaning and washing our windows.  Okay, I'll wait on the windows until it gets a little warmer...


This is a crib quilt in what we often refer to as the "Cathedral Windows" pattern.  I can't seem to get the colors to photograph well but it is a seafoam green and yellow.  Once when I took it to quilt study, most of the participants thought it was rather late for this style quilt.  The fabrics appear to be from the 1960s.

Actually, this pattern has a variety of names.  I had to look it up in Brackman's because one reference referred to it as "Attic Windows" and stated this: 
"The past few years we have seen the emergence of this same technique, now glorified with the name, Cathedral Windows."

 The booklet has no copyright but the publication address has a zip code (zip codes were instituted in 1963). And I found ads for the booklet in the 1970s.

 
I can tell you that there were lots of ads for this pattern in the 1970s and even 1980s.  Interestingly enough, the Laura Wheeler version was called the Attic Window Quilt and marketed as "Quilt As you Sew".  
For those of you that never made one are unfamiliar with the pattern, the pattern isn't quilted because the folds of the pattern make up the weight.


As I mentioned the pattern had a variety of names in the earlier part of the century including Mock Orange, Daisy Block, and Prairie Star according to Brackman.

Beth did quilt restoration for a number of years and saw many MANY quilts of this pattern that had to be restored.  I think she would have loved the one name that Brackman cited for the pattern: "Pain in the Neck" quilt  😂😂😂

Have a safe and happy day!








Tuesday, April 19, 2022

Tuesday's This and That: April 19, 2022

 Greetings friends and happy Tuesday!


Are you familiar with Welsh Quilting?  One of my friends described it as "wholecloth quilts on steroids." In sum it is really intricate quilting done usually on a solid piece of fabric.   The reason I began to think about Welsh Quilts (other than the fact that I am part Welsh) is this BBC article on how Instagram impacted Welsh quilting.  The article is here and really a good read.

Of course you may just wish to look at this Moda site about the Welsh Quilt Centre or the Welsh Quilt Centre website.

That's all for today.  

Wishing you a safe and happy day!

Monday, April 18, 2022

Fleur De Lis

 


Fleur De Lis is french for "lily flower" and there are LOTS and LOTS of different patterns that use the phrase for a quilt pattern.

1930s Nancy Cabot Version


1940s Laura Wheeler version

But I like this version best:
This is a 1930s version by Laura Wheeler and sorry I couldn't get the contrast right...so here let me show you a better image:


This quilt was given to Beth and me by our friend Betsy G. (if she sounds familiar it's because she often shares photos of her flowers).


The quilt is up at Beth's house right now and we really love it!
Things we love about it:  the two color pattern, the art deco style of the quilt and the fact that it was used and well loved.


It also has a very 1930s look to it with the pastel colors!

Thanks again Betsy!

Have a great day!