Posts Tagged ‘vintage quilts’

Small Bear, Big Story: Part 2

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, Quilt Lifestyle

Today’s feature is a guest post by my friend Donna di Natale. She’s a quilter and author with Nebraska roots. After retiring from the medical field, Donna was an editor for Kansas City Star Quilts. She lives in Lenexa, Kansas and enjoys history, antiques and vintage quilt treasures.  

Read Part 1 if you need to.

Part 2
by Donna di Natale

On a recent trip to Hamilton, Missouri, I brought home a red and white signature bear. Wanting to learn more about the bear, it was time to do a little research.

I enjoy research, especially genealogy. As with all research, you start with what you know. In this case, I knew the bear was purchased in Hamilton, Caldwell County, Missouri, and that is where I began. 

According to Wikipedia, Caldwell County was formed when a group of Mormon saints was exiled from their homes in Independence, Missouri. They fled to Clay County, where at first they were treated with kindness. However, the citizens of this area only offered a temporary refuge and encouraged the Mormons to move on as soon as possible.

There was a great deal of tension between the Latter-day Saints and the residents, including Alexander Doniphan, one of the county’s leading citizens. Doniphan introduced a legislative bill to form a county specifically for the Mormons, and so, in December of 1836, Caldwell County was born.

By the fall of 1838, the population of Caldwell County reached 10,000, making it the largest county in western Missouri. This rapid influx of Mormon settlers alarmed the non-Mormon residents. Before long, battles ensued and in 1885, these battles led to the Governor issuing an order to exterminate the Mormons. Eventually, the Mormons left peaceably, and today the site of the first Mormon community in Missouri is marked by a temple cornerstone (the temple was never completed) and gravesites (photo above).

So far, my research has revealed this: I have Mormons living in Cadwell County, Missouri, to go with the two “temples” on the bear. It makes sense that the names on the bear were members of two Mormon temples – Harmony and Equality. I have a starting place for the next steps in my research.

Part 3 from Donna di Natale coming soon. 

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Small Bear, Big Story: Part 1

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, Quilt Lifestyle

Today’s feature is a guest post by my friend Donna di Natale. She’s a quilter and author with Nebraska roots. After retiring from the medical field, Donna was an editor for Kansas City Star Quilts. She lives in Lenexa, Kansas and enjoys history, antiques and vintage quilt treasures.  

Part 1
by Donna di Natale

During a recent visit to Hamilton, Missouri (mecca for quilters), I stopped at a small antique shop called Junke and Disorderly. With a name like that, the shop had to contain hidden treasures, right?

Upon entering the shop one has the impression that it might have been a home. There are small rooms leading to other small and even smaller rooms. This seems odd because from the outside it looks like any other turn of the century brick storefront. Perhaps the front room was a shop and the back was living quarters. But that’s a story for another time.

Junke and Disorderly in Hamilton, Missouri

One Hundred Small Quilts #5

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, Trunk Shows

One of the sweetest quilts I ever came across is a Sunbonnet Sue baby quilt from the 30’s or 40’s. I’m not usually a fan of silly Sue, but this one was so charming that I couldn’t leave it behind.

I love the rectangular blocks. They’re more interesting than square blocks. And notice that Sue has a friend. Or maybe she’s a twin. There are two Sues on each block. I love the solid colors used for each little girl. They’re so cheerful.

Machine Quilting Inspiration

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas

Over the weekend I saw a lot of machine quilting that challenged me to improve my skills and start working on the tops I have finished. You know how that is? You love to piece them, but your machine quilting is less than perfect and it’s hard to figure out what to quilt on them. So the pile of unquilted tops grows.

Here are some of the quilts that inspired me. They were done by Handi Quilter educators on longarm machines, which I do not have, but that doesn’t matter. It’s entirely possible to quilt beautifully on a home sewing machine. My quilting doesn’t have to be of show quality to be just fine.

Collecting Older Quilting Books

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas, Quilt Lifestyle

Once every few months, I get to spend a day at International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska, about 140 miles from home. Next to the quilts, the best part of these visits is checking out the used books for sale in the museum gift shop.

I always leave with my arms full of books, and not just any books. They’re the kind of quilt books that hold all sorts of treasures, sometimes literally and sometimes in the form of inspiration for my own work.

I collect books from state quilt documentation projects, and Florida Quilts by Charlotte Allen Williams is one I do not have. A steal at $4.

Double Wedding Ring made by Edna Earle McKee in 1931 in Cottondale, Florida, 78″ x 78″, pieced by machine, hand quilted in a fan pattern, cotton batting.

And if this Double Wedding Ring quilt photo was the only one in the book, it would have been worth ten times what I paid. I mean, have you ever?!? Quilts like this give me courage! Edna Earle McKee made it in 1931 in Cottondale, Florida. Edna was a woman after my own heart. Edna wasn’t too worried about whether the fabrics matched.

Texas Quilts, Texas Treasures from Texas Heritage Quilt Society goes into my collection, too.

Pattern quilt c. 1900 by Nancy Fredonia Chapman Sears, Rusk County, Texas

The color photos in this one just never end, and the quilts are from all sorts of people. I can’t get enough of it. This sampler, called a “pattern quilt” in the book, inspires me to make a sampler from all the extra blocks filed away in my studio.

A slightly damaged America’s Quilts and Coverlets was just $1. It’s by Carleton L. Safford and Robert Bishop.

Inside the book were some interesting things: A triangular cardboard template, an advertising card for coffee, and some clippings with quilt patterns.

I wonder who clipped these out and tucked them inside the book. Did he or she use the Grandma’s Wedding Ring quilt pattern? What happened to that quilt? I hope it went to a good home.

Here’s an example of the quilts pictured inside.

Patchwork quilt, unnamed design, c. 1800.

No maker is listed in the book for this quilt, and isn’t that heartbreaking? I view this quilt as a permission slip to do whatever works in the moment. Notice that there are full blocks, half blocks, and even a quarter block up in the corner. How fun! We worry too much about everything. If your quilt isn’t quite long enough, then just add another border along the bottom and presto! Just right.

A woven coverlet

I’m also interested in weaving, so the coverlet section of the book intrigues me. I’d love to be able to weave something like this someday! I was given a floor loom a few months ago (for free!) but that’s a story for another day.

And if these vertical sashes aren’t the happiest, yellowest, staunchest pillars you’ve ever seen…! And consider this: There is hardly any other yellow in the quilt. I think we can all stop stressing over our sashing choices.

This black and white photo from the book is especially useful. You can see the values (lights and darks) without being distracted by the color. Isn’t it curious that this quilt maker used diamonds to create fan blocks instead of sewing the sections together to make a bursting star? I love this idea. It will probably show up in my own work.

 

Contemporary Quilts from The James Collection is from 1995, two years before the quilt treasure-store of Robert and Ardis James (New Yorkers with Nebraska roots) came “home” to establish International Quilt Study Center and Museum. Now boasting the largest publicly held quilt collection in the world, it has grown into an international phenomenon with quilts and related items dating from the early 1700s to the present and representing more than 50 countries.

The booklet is based on an exhibit at Museum of American Quilter’s Society curated by Penny McMorris, whose name you may recognize. She has worn many hats over the years, and today she is one of the owners of The Electric Quilt Company, where the quilt design software Electric Quilt originates. Quite a peek into the last 30 years of contemporary quiltmaking.

Whether your quilting library has new books or vintage titles like these, pull them out regularly. Browse for inspiration and soon you’ll have so many ideas, you won’t know where to begin.

 

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Ken Burns, Filmmaker and Quilt Collector

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, Quilt Lifestyle

If you’ve watched popular documentaries such as Jazz, Baseball, The Vietnam War and The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, then you may know Ken Burns as a filmmaker. His highly acclaimed work is known the world over. 

What you may not know is that Ken Burns is also a quilt collector. Some of his quilts are on exhibit for the first time at International Quilt Study Center & Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska through May 13. I’m lucky enough to live within a few hours’ drive and I visited last week.

How to Make a Scalloped Quilt Border

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in Blog, How-tos and Ideas

By the time I finish piecing a quilt’s center, I’m ready to be done. In the past, sometimes I’ve attached plain ol’ borders and called it quits. But when I’ve given more thought and effort to a border, it has paid off. Scarlet Spin is a good example.

Scarlet Spin by Diane Harris. Photo by Mellisa Karlin Mahoney. Used with permission.

I’ve learned not to rush to the finish line, but to take time to do the border justice. Bonnie Hunter influenced me with her borders, which can be as involved as the quilt center. I don’t think she has ever slapped on a plain border and called it good. 

Inspired by Vintage Quilts

Written by Diane Harris on . Posted in How-tos and Ideas

My small quilt group issued a half-square quilt challenge earlier this year. The rules were pretty simple: The finished quilt should be about 24″ x 24″ and feature mainly half-square triangles. If you’re a new to quilting, that’s a commonly-used shape and it looks like this:

A square is cut in half on the diagonal, and the two resulting triangles are called half-square triangles, often abbreviated as HST.