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.

Primitive Gatherings Block of the Week

You would think it was enough that I can't keep up with the Block of the Months I'm in, but now I've joined a Block of the Week! Of course, I love wool, and I love working small, so, with Primitive Gatherings new blocks finishing at 3", I just had to join. The fact that it's called Lisa's Garden didn't have anything to do with it, honest. :) The quilt was inspired by Florence Peto's quilt "Calico Garden" which resides in the Shelburne Museum. Here is the original "Calico Garden."




We get 10 blocks a week, 5 pieced and 4 wool applique, along with a free project. Here is the first week's shipment.




We also got all the background fabric for the wool blocks, which is an aged muslin. I matched up lights with darks and got to cutting those 1 1/2" squares.




The wool block directions call for using Steam-a-seam 2 lite. I haven't used fusible with wool before, but with pieces so small, I think I'll give it a try. I also don't usually buttonhole, I whip stitch, so I'm still deciding on that. Hopefully I'll have something to show you later in the week.


I also got the first package of the fabrics I ordered for the Morrell quilt. My friend Janet, from Quiltsalott, clued me in to some fabrics, since she has her pattern, and has already started her quilt. These are from Florrie's Favorites, designed by Froncie Quinn, of Hoopla fame, and, coincidentally, taken from Florence "Florrie" Peto's quilts. Froncie also has a pattern for Calico Garden.



Hopefully my package from Threadbear will come this week. I'll post pictures when it arrives. After I get done rolling around in it. :)

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.