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A little of everything

I have a little of everything to share with you today.  Some antique quilts, life in the garden, food on my plate, and a few WIP’s of course.

Let’s start with my recent score of two antique quilts.  I visited the Santa Cruz flea market a few weeks ago with a thrifting friend and amongst the treasures were two beautiful, vintage quilts.  The first one is a 48″ square lone star baby quilt in faded solids.

Lone Star Antique Baby Quilt at The Crafty Quilter

It is all hand pieced and hand quilted.  There are a few stains, but no tears.  I love the few apricot diamonds that they added in.

Lone Star Antique Baby Quilt at The Crafty Quilter

 

The second quilt is 74″ x 96″ and it is all hand appliqued, hand pieced and hand quilted.  I’ll bet it was drop dead gorgeous in it’s day.

Antique Applique Quilt @ The Crafty QuilterThere were a few applique pieces that needed repair (which I just completed).  I love this block, but I haven’t had time to research it to find out its name.

Antique Applique Block @ The Crafty QuilterYou can see a few stains in the picture below.  Now that I’ve made all of the repairs, I can attempt to wash this.  I’ll be researching that step before I go any further.

Antique Applique Quilt @ The Crafty Quilter

You can still see the pencil lines from marking the quilt.  I can’t imagine how much time it took to mark the top, let alone quilt it!

Antique Applique Quilt @ The Crafty Quilter

The binding is worn which I find endearing, but I think I’ll put a new binding over the old one for preservation sake.

Antique Applique Quilt @ The Crafty QuilterThese are the first two antique quilts I’ve ever owned.  I think they were a steal at $25 for both of them!  The lady who sold them to me didn’t know anything about them.  It’s another testament to why we should all label our quilts.

I’ve been spending some time in my garden lately and I captured this picture of a hummingbird feeding from this beautiful, red flower (the name escapes me).  It’s time to get out my telephoto lens so I’ll be ready for the next time he visits.

hummingbird feeding circled copyWe already have cherry tomatoes (sun gold) coming out of the vegetable garden and one cucumber so far.  I’ve been making some heavenly “composed” salads lately and they are so tasty!

Composed Salad Plate @ The Crafty QuilterThis is a nice alternative to your typical green salad.  For this plate, I used avocado, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, fresh feta cheese and kalamata olives.  All you do is drizzle them with olive oil, squeeze some lemon juice on top and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper and sea salt.

Composed Salad Plate @ The Crafty Quilter

It makes a fantastic lunch with some fresh bread, or a great salad to start a meal.

In my sewing room, I’ve been trying to keep up with my BOM projects.  Here is the last block of the Fat Quarter Shop’s 2013 Designer Mystery BOM.  I need to buy the sashing fabric so I can put all 12 of them together.

block 12 FQS Mystery BOM copy

 

I have the alphabet letters from last month’s A-Z for Ewe and Me BOM at The Quilt Show finished in the original version, but not my own modern version.  I don’t know if I can keep up with two of the same BOM’s each month, and I’ll have to be o.k. with that.  This is the Kansas Star block:

Letter K, TQS 2014 BOM @ The Crafty QuilterThe Log cabin block:

Letter L, TQS 2014 BOM @ The Crafty QuilterAnd the Mayflower block:

Letter M, TQS 2014 BOM @ The Crafty Quilter

I am participating in a mini quilt swap that’s going on at Schnitzel and Boo.  We have been assigned secret partners and I am having a great time putting this little quilt together.  I need to have this finished and shipped by the first week of July.  It really is just as much fun giving as it is receiving. This is the quilt top and I had to “white out” the center because it’s  got a monogram that needs to be kept hidden.  I wouldn’t want to give out too many hints!

Mini Quilt for swap partner @ The Crafty QuilterThis might be one of my favorite projects so far.  I love playing with the color and I got to practice a little paper piecing too.  I’m hooked!  The center block pattern is taken from last year’s Sugar Block Club at Stitchery Dickory Dock.  You can still purchase that pattern here.

That’s it for the sewing room for now.  If you happen to live in the bay area, you may be interested in hearing about a new guild starting up:  the Silicon Valley Modern Quilt Guild.  The first meeting is Thursday, June 26, at 6:30 (social) 7:00 (meeting) at The Intrepid Thread.  Our main focus will be modern quilting and what that means plus general information.  If you want to know more, send me an email.  I’ll be there for sure!

Have a great day!

Julie

 

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15 Comments

  1. I Love your treasures aka…antique quilts! I have found several over the years, some ugly colors, faded, torn and others with minor flaws making them all the more precious. I have found I sorta Like the imperfections if it doesn’t effect the longevity of the quilt. I found one back in the fall for $13.00 all balled up and dirty sitting in the corner of a mainly dish thrift store. The Grand Old Lady was HUGE, Heavy, a bit tattered arounf the edges but I loved her on the spot. She is now home, washed on the cold/gentle cycle and I can’t get to repairing because someone is always cuddled up underneath her. My whole family fights over The Grand Old Lady…my most favorite quilt EVER!! Enjoy your great finds!
    Gmama Jane

  2. I love all the eye candy. What a bargain for the quilts!! Seeing the frayed binding reminds me – when my ex-husband of only 7 months (sad story the whole thing) was found dead in his apartment, one of the pastors of our church where his family finally donated his material goods asked me too accompany him to the apartment. His family all lived out of state and I was the only person who would really know what things were what of his meager existence. Anyhow, his previous sister-in-law had made a beautiful quilt with small, small sqaures. The precision was amazing. You could tell she had been an engineer. I could never find that quilt at all. He had a preprinted panel quilt that his mother had made into a quillow. I found it and a quilt I had made that he loved wrapped in the electronic mechanism of his lift recliner. We were able to get those two of the chair. The binding on the one I had made and he quickly asked if he could claim was worn. When we were married, in his physical pain, he would rub the binding as he sat under it. It gave him comfort to help take the focus off the pain. Of course, being caught in the chair didn’t help it either. The quilt is well born and it’s only about 5 years old and now resides at my house. The pastor graciously gave it to me. It would be fun to try to create a pattern for each of the old quilts. I think that’s always fun. I just took a class with Gwen Marston and she got lots of her “liberated” inspiration from looking at old quilts. She told us that every block does not have to be identical and even some of the sizes are different in some places. Some have different shapes yet compliment the ones in other blocks. She said it is obvious that they eye balled many, many things. One funny thing she told us was on an Amish quilt, she had found a column of flying geese. The end block was just lopped off where the border came across. She called it a design feature – not her exact words – you get the idea. Thanks for another wonderful post and all the inspiration. What a great pic of the hummingbird and all your BOMs and swap blocks are beautiful.

  3. Hello,

    You may to check out Retro Clean for getting the stains out of the
    antique quilt. It works really well. They have a web site.

  4. Whew! I don’t know how you accomplish all you write about! I love reading it all though, & wish you the very best doing it all!! I love the antique quilts you bought at the market & I can hear the love in your written words! ENJOY, & Thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. Julie, That Lonestar was a steal!!! LOVE it!! And, enjoy your beebalm:) One of my favorite flowers and I can’t grow it where I live:( Have fun at the Quilt Guild!!! Marilyn

  6. Your “mystery” quilt is a pattern we call Turkey Tracks. Ours was pieced, not applique. It’s the one formerly known as Wandering Foot, which “made boys wander far from home”. The name change worked in our family, because “our boys” have remained in Lower Georgia and Alabama, as they should have. Ours is orange and green scrappy.

  7. So much great stuff going on! All of it is so inspiring, but I really adore those antique quilts. They remind me of why it is that I love making my own quilts. I think most of us who got into quilting were drawn in by those kinds of quilts.

  8. what wonderful finds and to think the pencil marks are still on the quilt, I wonder if it has never been washed. Mouth watering salads you have tempted me with.. How lucky are you to have humming birds coming to your gaden

  9. Love those quilts, Julie! What a great deal! I love the old quilts and always wonder about their history when I see them. Who made the quilt and what was it for, etc. Can’t imagine the hours that went into hand sewing and quilting those beauties. Truly a labor of love. I want to join the new guild so please send me more information. Thanks again for all your sharing.

  10. The red flower is bee balm or monarda. We have gobs in our garden. You will find it ‘marches’ forward as years progress and you will have to replant in another spot, it wont grow in the same place. But enjoy it is very pretty and sometimes you will get two flowers on one stalk!

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