Vintage Fabrics

A new antique quilt!!

August 15, 2012 by Margaret

Last week I had the very great pleasure of meeting a new antique quilt!!!

Is that an oxymoron?

I’m sure you know what I mean ~ an antique quilt not seen before, that makes it new right!

I also had the very great pleasure of meeting the owner, Melva who very kindly brought her quilt in for me to see.

Melva would love me to show you the quilt so it can be enjoyed by many.

So without further ado, please let me introduce you to the quilt known as Grandma Taylor’s Blue Quilt.

1833 Frame Quilt

Grandma Taylor is the great great grandmother of the previous owner, a relation of new owner Melva.

Grandma Taylor was from Westport,Pennsylvania, USA.

The fabrics in this quilt are a wonderful example of early 19th century fabrics, particularly those Prussian Blues I love soooo much.

There were the usual squeals of “oh look” “look at this one” “Look at that ombré” “how about that for a paisley”

I should put photo’s with those exclamations shouldn’t I?

So for all those fabricaholics, enjoy.

Paisley print on Ombre

Prussian Blue Ombre print

Surpentine Stripe

The quilt is in very good condition. Only a few of the fabrics have not fared well and the above is one that has perished. I could only find this particular fabric in two places but many others are repeated all over the quilt.

I was particularly interested with this fabric

Prussian blue and buff check

because it reminded me of this one

image of 1847 Maltaville Album Quilt detail

fabric detail from the Maltaville Album Quilt 1847

More Prussian Blue

Prussian Blue Ombre

Stripes and a very sweet little paisley in yellow, can you spot it?

Ombres, stripes and paisleys galore

And the back is very impressive too, a mid blue serpentine print

Backing fabric

Many many thanks to Melva for sharing Grandma Taylor’s quilt with us.

And many many thanks to Mary at Patch n Quilt (formerly Drapers of Mt Macedon) who suggested it and then made it happen

I would love to reproduce this, Melva has generously given me the OK. I have so many great Prussian blue repros left from the Maltaville, they need a new project and so do I, LOL.

Tomorrow Jenn and I are off to the beach for a few lovely days of friendship and sewing with Linda (thank you, thank you Linda for providing the digs), Bev (no blog) and Debbie (don’t think Debbie has a blog)

We are sooooo looking forward to it. I have packed the car already!!

We have heaps of work to do and hope to be able to show you what secret quilting business we have been up to very soon.

I will no doubt be dreaming of a certain blue medallion quilt.

til soon

Margaret

Antique purchases

May 31, 2012 by Margaret

This may be the quickest Blog Post ever,

photo’s are primed and ready to go,

I am sitting with Laptop on lap at Auckland airport waiting for my domestic flight to Palmerston North,

or Palmy as Palmerstonians like to call it.

One of the reasons why I’ve felt in a real muddle since getting back from the US is that there were many boxes of goodies arriving intermitently over the last week, cluttering up the place. I’m not great when things aren’t orderly. I’m pretty sure it’s a Libran thing.

Irene came up last weekend and we made an attempt to go through some of it. We couldn’t even remember 1/3 of what we bought.

That's three boxes worth

Then yesterday my final box arrived, it was from Stella Rubin Antiques and contained this very charming treasure.

Late 19th C Star star quilt with cheerful Yellow applique

It was the cheerful yellow applique which charmed me so much, what an unexpected and delightful addition to a simple quilt pattern.

I also bought from Stella a few ‘orphaned’ blocks which appealed.

Antique House block

Antique Block

Love a good paisley as you know

Antique Pieces

When I was at the New England Quilt Museum, I found a couple of treasures there too

Fabric pieces approximately 1785 - 1845

Vintage Prussian Blue Album Block

I’ll be whipping off that border of course

I’m going to leave it there for today, I’ve got time for a cup of tea if I don’t dilly dally.

Internet connection permitting I will be back in a day or two and will have a give-away as there is so much fabric!!

til soon,

Oh by the way,

all fine in NZ just took the opportunity to ‘nip’ home to see Mum before the rest of the year gets really busy.

Margaret

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Filed Under: Antique Quilts, Applique, Travel, Vintage Fabrics

The first Tuesday in November…

November 1, 2011 by Margaret

…is Cup Day, that’s Melbourne Cup Day of course and we get a day off. It really is the race that stops a nation. Why? I don’t know.

I’m not really interested in Horse racing but I do like horses and even used to hurtle about the countryside on the back of this trusty steed.

Robbie and moi.

But given that we do have a day off I am going to catch up with some long overdue blogging, that’ll include reading as well as writing.

I was bit out of action with a bee sting the other week, of course Murphy’s Law dictates that after I had prepped lots of hand sewing to take to my LQG’s Quilt-in I was stung and could not even pick up a piece of cutlery, never mind a needle.

Normal hand

Big hand

Yikes…it’s been a long time since I’ve been stung and haven’t really had that reaction before.

All back to normal now.

And sewing again, phew.

I promised a little while back that I would share some pics from Quilts in the Barn, I took close-up photo’s of the fabrics in Linda’s antique quilts because I spotted some originals of fabrics which I have the repros of…does that make sense?

So here is what I shot, with thanks to Linda

this one's the antique quilt

This one's the repro Windham True Madder #20331

Jo Morton did a great one too for Andover fabrics a while back

Jo's interpretation for Andover fabrics

The next fabric really caught my attention

This paisley fabric is in Linda's antique quilt

These are my two bits of repro (it also came in green)

Windham Civil War IV c 1860 by Nancy Gere #25310-52

Windham Civil War IV c. 1860 by Nancy Gere #25310-32

I am really liking little spots and dots (almost as much as paisleys)

image of Antique yellow fabric with spot

The real deal

this one's the repro, Scrappy Dots by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Bros. Textiles 2006

Aren’t we lucky that we have such great fabric designers producing excellent repro’s for us to use.

Another thing I’m happy about is finding more of this

I didn't think I'd see a whole bolt of this again.

I took a trip to Melbourne on Friday with Jenn to do some fabric shopping etc and stopped at Quilters Bazaar in Gisborne on the way. I couldn’t believe it when I saw this fabric as I have had my now paltry sized piece for a few years and guard it jealously.

She had a whole bolt of it so maybe it’s been re-released, not sure and the staff didn’t know.

Anyway I now know what it is as before I knew only that it was an International Quilt Study Centre fabric, but it is designed by Kathy Hall with Jo Morton for Andover Fabrics patt #4132.

LOL I now have enough to make curtains, but there’s more there if you want any too.

Here’s one more pic from Quilts in the Barn, this one is one of Jo’s quilts featuring the above fabric

detail of Jo Morton quilt using Madder Stripe fabric

and here’s my Maltaville saturn block using the same fabric

Saturn Block for the Maltaville Album Quilt 1847

I think I’ve got time to quickly post a couple of pics on the Yahoo group ‘repro lovers’ before Jenn arrives for this afternoon’s task.

I don’t think that race is going to stop anyone in this household this afternoon.

soon

6 Comments

Filed Under: 1800s Reproduction Fabrics, Antique Quilts, Maltaville Album Quilt 1847, Paisleys, Vintage Fabrics

Indian Paisleys

July 19, 2010 by Margaret

Yesterday’s post about Rajasthan reminded me about this.

You know how I can’t go past a good paisley…

The above are all a part of one textile piece…

Unfortunately the close-up of the fourth square just did not want to upload so I will try again another day with that one.

I found it at an antique dealers in Jaipur. It was in a cupboard which I just opened out of curiosity and did not expect to see such a riot of colour, pattern and texture. The cupboard was full of textiles, I didn’t know where to start and it almost took my breath away. At that time it was planned that I would need to return to Jaipur later in 2008 so I didn’t fossick too long or hard. Unfortunately I no longer have the need (but I do have the desire) to return to Jaipur so I am kind of kicking myself.

However, I did buy this piece and one other which I’ll share another day.

It comes from Gujarat in Western India and I was told this piece dates from around 1910.

I love the traditional Indian patterns, so familiar to us as Provencal French but India is where they originated from. The Turkey Red paisleys in the top photo are so close to what we see in repro fabrics today and the bottom square is actually more Indigo that it appears in the photo.

The whole thing has been sewn together with thread as thick as string.

I still have a few interesting bits from India to show you…the next thing will be my old Block Printing blocks.

Thanks for visiting…

3 Comments

Filed Under: Musings, Vintage Fabrics

A new antique quilt!!

Antique purchases

The first Tuesday in November…

Indian Paisleys

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