Tablecloths and Quilts

I haven't been around much lately due to complications with my leg, but I'm finally on the mend. I hope. :)

I know a lot of people who have been collecting the Sophia Pearce fabrics for their Morrell and other Broderie Perse quilts. Every time I see some of the line, it sucks the wind out of me and I think "I HAVE to buy it!" Except for this one.

Although when I would see it I would still think "Sophia Pearce!," I couldn't for the life of me think of what I would do with it. I mean, it looks like a tablecloth! Doesn't it? I hated to pass it up, but seriously, I couldn't imagine how I would use it.

Until I saw this..............

Then I almost broke a leg (hopefully not the good one) getting back to the store to buy it. This is one of the most beautiful quilts I've ever seen. A friend tipped me off to a new (to me) blog, Linen Closet Quilts, and when I popped over there, this is what greeted me. I emailed Dawn, who put me in touch with Cynthia Collier, the quilt's maker. She calls it Travels in Time, after the Kaye England fabric in the corner blocks. If you want to read more about the quilt, visit Linen Closet Quilts, where Cynthia shared the story behind it, and be sure to stay and check out the rest of Dawn's great blog. If you went to Houston and saw the quilt there and have additional photos, I would love to see them.


Now for the fabric. Some Art Fabric has some of the Sophia Pearce fabrics still available. If you prefer the green version, you can get that here. I can also give you the phone #'s for the stores in town that still have it if you email me. They each had a full bolt of blue and green when the sale started, and they do ship.


And speaking of hard to find fabrics, I saw this wonderful toile (that I didn't have!) on Jeanneke's Blog, and she was kind enough to tell me the name of the line.



It took me a few weeks, but I finally tracked it down. If anyone else wants some, it's at Prairie Rose Quilt Shop, and I checked and she does ship internationally. Good luck!


I'm off to pack. Tomorrow I head to Shipshewana for a Midwest Fabric Study Group meeting on Signature Quilts. Coincidentally, there is also a Dear Jane retreat in the same hotel! I know lots of people are going to be there, so if you see someone with purple glasses and purple Uggs, stop and say Hi.

New Design

Well, I've been playing around with this for a while, and finally decided to take the plunge. I switched to a new blog template. It feels lighter and more open than the old one. I'm still tweaking it, it HAS to have purple somewhere, but I really like it so far.







I have a couple of Morrell blocks done. I think the Broderie Perse one turned out good, but I think I want to do a smaller buttonhole. I'll try it on the next block and see if I want to do this one over. I don't want it to look overworked, though, so I'll see which I like best.

I also prepped three more blocks. I'm really liking the Broderie blocks. I find intricate handwork so relaxing, and I need all of that I can get! I know some people have done some of the blocks needleturn. While I love doing needleturn, right now I'm thinking I'll do them all buttonhole. I was sceptical at first, but I really like the look.

I also decided to toss out most of the Civil War fabrics I collected, and use some earlier fabrics, more appropriate for the early 1840's when the quilt was made. It meant starting over, but I think I have what I need, for now anyway.


My plan to dive into that Strawberry Garden block hit a snag when I opened it up and realized I had two of one of the pages, and none of the other one. Oops! They are sending me the other pattern page, so while I'm waiting, I also did another Crimson Tweed block. I really like this one. The backings are all some shade of gray, and this one is a hand-dyed smoky color that almost looks blue.




Now to get caught up with those Lisa's Garden blocks! I'm only about 5 weeks behind. My second thread set for the wool blocks is on it's way, though, so it won't be long now.

Morrell Begins!

I've been busy with computer and other woes lately, but I'm ready to go full steam ahead now. After the background fabric I ordered turned out to not be suitable, I had to start over again, and this time got swatches first, something I highly recommend! I settled on a Benartex vine print, and I'm really pleased with it. It arrived yesterday, and I got the first Broderie Perse block prepped and ready to go.

I just don't like using fusible on my quilts, but I could see something was needed to prevent fraying, so I prepared mine using Misty Fuse. I may eat my words and end up using fusible, but so far, so good. We'll see how it holds up once I start buttonholing the edge.

The second block is a pieced windmill block, and here is the fabric. I haven't decided weather to overdye it or not, but I think I will go with it as it, since my backing is so light. Maybe I'll have to try dyeing a swatch to make sure, though. I'm so anxious to get started I just want to dive right in, but you know the saying - never time to do it right, always time to do it over, so I want to get it right the first time.

It's been so much fun tracking down fabrics for this, and I had plenty of time waiting on the background fabric, so I may have gone a bit overboard. You've already seen a lot of my chintz and floral. Here are some of the others I've found.

Some Carriage House, Treasures of York County, and Antebellum.

Charleston and Cambridge.

And some Sturbridge Scarlets.

I'm still searching for some yellows and golds I'm happy with, but I have enough to keep me busy for a while. Now to start sewing.

Threadbear Package Arrives!

My package from Threadbear arrived from Australia this week! It arrived along with several packages of fabrics I had tracked down, after getting the heads up on what to look for from my friend Janet. My mail lady could hardly climb the stairs, her bag was so laden down with fabrics. I saved opening the Threadbear package till last, knowing it would be the best, and I wasn't disappointed. I got the Ann Daggs pattern, Ann's Legacy, along with the fabric starter pack, and the background fabric.

They were sold out of the border fabric, but provided me with the name of the line, and I was able to track that down here in the States. While I was at it, I ordered another fabric, from Judy Roche, that I thought looked similar to the original quilt's border. I'll audition them both, but I think the Roche is too light.

And then, the pattern I have wanted since I first saw a picture of it that someone had taken at a show where it was displayed, Di Ford's Morrell quilt! I printed that picture out, and it's been laying here next to my computer ever since. There's so much to the pattern, I feel very intimidated, but I'll just concentrate on one block at a time, and try not to feel overwhelmed. Notice the bottles of Little House pins in the top right corner. These are my favorite pins, and have been impossible to find here for several years. I was thrilled to find them on Threadbear's website.

I found two of the Sophia Pearce fabrics that Di used in her quilt, and also the Austen Manor peacock fabric.

Next are some of the In the Time of Toile fabrics, by Froncie Quinn. Several more are on the way! I just love these fabrics, and had coveted them for a while. Now that I have the perfect project for them, I had an excuse to splurge.

Also arriving this week were week 3 of the Primitive Gatherings Block of the Week, and another Sue Spargo Crimson Tweed block. Good thing I'm on vacation for the next two weeks.

Sarah Morrell and Ann Daggs

What do these two women have in common? Besides both being quilters, they both have the distinction of having their most famous quilt reproduced by Di Ford, an Australian quilt designer. I have written previously about the Morrell Quilt, made by Sarah Morrell, which resides in the Museum of American Folk Art. The Ann Daggs Quilt was made c. 1818, and resides in the Smithsonian. Here is a picture of the central medallion.



For a picture of the whole quilt, click here. It is pictured in Roderick Kiracofe's book The American Quilt, A History of Cloth and Comfort: 1750-1950.

I have finally ordered these two pattern from Threadbear in Australia, which carries Di Ford's patterns, and I can't wait until they arrive. I will be documenting my progress on this blog, so I hope you can follow me as I work on them. Now..........which one to start first?

Here is a picture of Di Ford's version, called Ann's Legacy.

Sarah Morrell Quilt

I have been wanting to order the pattern for the Sarah Morrell Quilt, among other things, from Threadbear in Australia for over a year now. They have a great selection of Di Ford reproduction patterns. In researching the quilt, I found that it was pictured in the book Glorious American Quilts, which is a guide to quilts in the Museum of American Folk Art in New York. Here are pictures of the original from the book, and Threadbear's picture of Di Ford's quilt.



I ordered the book, and it came today, so I sat down and started reading. Halfway through the Foreword, written by Gerard Wirtkin, I got my laugh for the day. He quotes Jeremiah Hacker, writing for the Portland Pleasure Boat, a Quaker journal, in 1849, who railed against the practice of state and county fairs awarding prizes for ornamental quilts. "He was particularly incensed by a prize-winning quilt consisting of 9,800 pieces of silk, which he called a "splendid folly"; the practice of quiltmaking itself he dismissed as a "sinful waste of time." "If the State or County Fairs are to offer premiums to those who will thus trifle away whole months of a short life when the time might be so much more usefully and profitably spent, they will prove a great injury to the country instead of benefit." He also regretted that "any man could be found in the whole country willing to encourage such a waste of time." Unfortunately, the journal folded in 1862, so we were spared Hacker's further musings on the subject.

The Sarah Morrell Album Quilt is the oldest sampler album quilt in the Museum's collection. It contains blocks dated 1842 and 1843, and is signed by 58 people who lived in the Delaware River area, in Pennsylvania or Delaware. The signatures are in ink or embroidery, and some are embellished with a stamp. Sarah Morrell's name is in the center block, and she may have made the quilt. Several of the surnames on the quilt have ties to the Pennsylvania-New Jersey Quaker community, although at least two names are associated with other churchs.

I took Nancy Kirk's Quilt Restoration Workshops a couple of years ago, and purchased my own "splendid folly" to practice restoring. Although it falls short of 9,800 pieces, it is a Victorian Silk Quilt. You can see some of the fractured pieces in the close-ups, particularly the scarlet silk ones. I bought this from an antique quilt dealer who had it hanging over his bed, and he was happy to hear I would be restoring it. I love the plaid border.






On a more recent note, I am working on this "sinful waste of time." It is the Mistletoe and Holly quilt from Blackbird Design's When the Cold Wind Blows book. Although I have been buying strictly repro fabrics since I started making reproduction dolls, I call Blackbird Designs my guilty pleasure. I love everything they do, and have the material to make several quilts from this book. Here's the finished piece, and mine so far. It would be nice to have this completed in time for Christmas. I am doing it as a BOM from Homestead Hearth. I have done a few BOM's from them, including the Trick or Treat quilt from the same book, and find them to have great fabric choices, as well as being very generous with fabric. You can also catch a peek of my Civil War Tribute BOM in the top right corner, which I am doing through my local quilt shop, The Attic Window, in Comstock Park, MI. If you are in the area, check them out. They have lots of Spring classes starting.