Easter Monday

 

Happy Easter Monday!

Did you know that some cultures celebrate the Monday after Easter?  I didn't.  The celebrations started way back when, possibly in the 15th century.  Sometimes it is called "Renewal Monday" or "Bright Monday."  In Poland, it is called "Dyngus Day" and some cultures start the day with pouring water on spouses and siblings (uh, no thanks).

For the most part, the holiday continues the celebration of the resurrection and the end of Lenten fasting.  The holiday usually includes fun things like holidays, feasting, and parades.  Here in the U.S., most folks (like my hubby) only know it as a day off.

Whatever you are doing today, I hope you make it a fun day!

Have a safe and happy day!

Happy Easter!

 Happy Easter dear friends!

Here's a look at some Easter traditions from days gone from my photo collection!

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Flower Friday: April 7, 2023

 

Happy Easter!

Happy Passover!

Happy Friday!

This week Libby from TN sent some timely photos that reflect Easter:

Lenten Roses (above) and Dogwoods in full bloom!

Wishing you a safe and happy holiday!

Thursday's This and That: April 6, 2023

 

Hello friends!

It's been fascinating reading your comments and emails about your fabric choices.  Two of you wrote that you find greens difficult to work with and many of you said that you go in phases.  Blue still remains one of the favorite colors that attracts quilters.

Robin also mentioned her need of creating contrast in a quilt.  The older I get, the more I find that contrast is important for my aging eyes.  

An insightful comment was from Libby who said that lately she is attracted to pastels and a more restful palette.  Diann realized in the last few years that she loves rainbow colors!

Thank you all for taking the time to comment!

***

Haptic And Hue have a new podcast about a piece of indigo that was found.  You can listen to the podcast here.

***

Grandpa's Weeder:  Many of you expressed an interest in it.  I borrowed Linda's tool and tried it out last week.  I wanted to post about it last week for Flower Friday but forgot.  So today it gets it's own post.

The tool is easy to use.  You put the fork in the center of the weed, push down on the pedal and lean the handle towards the pedal so the forks wrap around the weed.  And it works!

This is what I found:

The tool is more effective in dryer soil than mud.

It is effective on weeds with a vertical root.  Some of my weeds spread horizontally.  It is more time consuming with horizontal roots.

Still I give this tool a  thumbs up👍because it did save my hands and I filled a bucket with weeds in no time using the tool.  If you are having challenges with your hands or knees, this tool may save you a lot of pain!

What is going on in your garden?  I am sorry to report that some of our friends are still getting snow (ugh) but please share your photos with us by emailing them via allentownquilter@gmail.com.

Have a safe and happy day!

Happy Passover!

 

Last week I read a beautiful story here on Jews in Uganda and decided to do a blog post to mark the first night of the holiday (tonight).  I am fascinated by all holidays and the traditions that accompany them.  

It seems fitting to share some beautiful textiles I found that marks the holiday. 

I found a beautiful Passover quilt at the Lady Bird Quilt blog, please check it out here!

I was charmed by the many Matzah covers I found, many of which are embroidered.  A good explanation on why the matzah is covered is here.  I particularly liked the antique ones:

Read the story here.

Holocaust encyclopedia here

From the Montreal Holocaust Musuem

There's also a tutorial on a matzah cover available here if you want to make one.

Wishing you a day of peace and reflection!

Chag Pesach Sameach!

Fabric Choices

 

We love fabric.

The idea for today's post came from Robin over at I Like to Create blog.  She wrote a comment after the Inspirations post this week about how much fabric inspires her.

One of her inspirations?  The fabric itself.  She wrote: "I am strongly influenced by fabric trends which I've tried to tame with minimal success. I've got a pile of Tilda fabric without a project in mind and I have a FQ stack of Jeanne Horton fabric waiting for the right idea. I love love love CW (Civil War) era fabrics."

That got me to thinking and wondering about your fabric choices.  Fabric for our quilts can be meaningful.  

In an hilarious newspaper article from 1898 (Liverpool), a breach of promise lawsuit was reported.  The lady--Miss Owen, cited that Captain Jones had reneged on a promise of marriage.  Part of the evidence cited:

"In the course of cross-examination, he denied giving her ties to make quilts (Laughter).  He often sent letters to young ladies with his fondest love, and they used to be written by a friend because he could not spell (Renewed laughter)..."

I'm not sure what the Victorian symbolism of giving fabric (or ties) for a quilt meant...perhaps for the lady's trousseau?

Color symbolism is not helpful here.  So many times people have very personal reasons for gravitating towards a colorway.  I'd love to know what colors and fabric lines you choose and...why.  This is the kind of post that sentiment is absolutely celebrated.

So here are some questions for you.  

What fabrics and colors do you absolutely gravitate towards?  

Does that choice tend to be the largest selection in your stash?

Is there a specific fabric line you own that you haven't used yet or can't decide what to do with yet?  Or a collection of fabrics that you just can't bear to cut yet?

How about this:  do you prefer white or natural (or another color) as a blender in your quilts?

Do you like picking out your own fabrics for a quilt or do you prefer to use a specific line of fabric?  I know that some quilters have told me they have a difficult time choosing fabrics and/or colors.

Do you think that the colors you choose symbolize anything?  Are there colors you prefer not to use?  

Is there a specific (or sentimental) reason you gravitate to certain lines or colorways?  An example I can give is that I love 1930s fabric because it reminds me of Nana Betty.  

One of my friends suggested that perhaps we choose colors that we often wear as clothing.  I'm not so sure about this but would love your insight!

And lastly, do you see the colors you choose in your quilts reflected in the color choices you make in your garden?

I'm looking forward to reading your choices!

Have a safe and happy day!

No Right or Wrong Answers

 I'm shaking things up this week.  Tuesday's This and That will be moved to Thursday for just this week.  This week I'm interested in what colors and kinds of fabrics you gravitate towards.  There is no right or wrong answer.  I'm just interested in what YOU love.

We have something these days that quilters of the past didn't have.  We have tons of choices of fabrics. It's very rare that I find an antique article that explains what colors a quilter could choose.  One exception was a home demonstration class from 1937 that had a topic of "Choosing Colors for your Quilt and how to Judge a Quilt."  Another unusual topic was a story syndicated in 1929:

                        

Still the emphasis of the story was just as much on the quilt pattern as it was on the rather limited palette selection.

Folks who study quilts can often date a quilt by the colors and fabric choices.  This isn't an exact science but most of you could identify the time frame for these quilts:

Last quarter, 19th century

Early 20th century

1920s-1930s

How historians date our quilts will depend on us.  Labeling a quilt is crucial to dating our present our future quilts.  We have so many choices.

And whatever fabrics you like, there are no right or wrong answers. 

Whenever I get interested in a topic, I first begin by checking out a ton of books to read.  It's my first step in research.  When I wanted to study quilts, I read a number of books but Ruth Finley's book stopped me dead in my tracks.  The book was called Old Patchwork Quilts and the Women Who Made Them.

Ruth Finley wrote about "Pennsylvania Dutch" quilts or the textiles produced by Pennsylvania Germans:

"Only a soul in desperate need of nervous outlet could have conceived and executed . . . the “Full Blown Tulip” . . . , a quilt of Pennsylvania Dutch origin. It is a perfect accomplishment from a needlework standpoint yet hideous. The ‘tulip’ block is composed of eight arrow-shaped patches of brilliant purplish red, . . . the eight petal-shaped patches inserted between the red arrows are a sickly lemon yellow. The center of each tulip is . . . homespun of the most terrifying shade of brownish green, beyond question the accident of a private dyepot. The whole is surrounded by a . . . border . . . of dazzling bright orange. This green-red-lemon-orange combination is enough to set a blind man’s teeth on edge. And yet as an example of needlecraft the quilt is a triumph."

All I could think of at the time was my brother's voice saying, "well them's fighting words."

Finley softened her criticism when interviewed for newspaper articles she gave in 1929 and the early 1930s to promote her book.  "Pennsylvania quilts are easiest of all to identify," she was quoted as saying.  "They are gaudy, bold, and elaborate, more often pieced than appliqued, and have superlative quilting."

I would even suggest that there were plenty of appliqued Pennsylvania German quilts but Finley hadn't been exposed to them.

Quilt historian Laurel Horton used this quote in an essay that you can read here.

But here's the irony.  Collectors these days love LOVE Pennsylvania German quilts and they are much sought in the quilt market.

Finley passed in 1955, about the time there was a renewed interest in "Pennsylvania Dutch" folk craft.  Quilt kits were marketed like the one below to emulate the quilts made by Pennsylvania Germans:

And a variety of home decorative fabrics were made and printed well into the 1960s:

Finley was and is a respected quilt historian and was inducted into the Quilters Hall of Fame in 1979.

There may be "no crying in baseball" but there's also "no bad fabric choices."  What you love is what you love.  So tomorrow, I get to find out just what kind of fabrics (and hopefully why) you love them!

Have a safe and happy day!