Girlfriend Time! ((Antique Mall Adventures!))

Have you ever had a stack of errands to run ---and found yourself meeting up with a girlfriend who ALSO had a stack of errands to run, and decided to run them together? That’s just what happened yesterday!

Lisa and I had planned to meet up for lunch in the midst of my errand running --- bank, post office, etc ----but knowing how my time was NOT going the way I had planned, my errands were as yet un-done when it was time to meet up for our favorite stirfry place. Text on my phone said “I’m in Office Depot if you get here early!” My reply? I’M JUST LEAVING THE HOUSE! --- yeah, my morning was one of those!

I’ve picked up another “traveler’s cold” --- started feeling it a couple days before I left California, and since the first tickle have been taking airborne, and dosing myself with cold-eze lozenges ---I swear, as soon as I get on any kind of long trip at all WHAMMO!

So that’s why I was late – I haven’t been sleeping well, my head feels like it’s going to explode and I was late out the door! I made it to the restaurant on time, but that left all the running around to do.

As we visited over lunch, we plotted and planned about how we could fit this all in together if we went in one car instead of two ----because running around with a friend even to do mundane things like a post office drop-off is more fun than doing it by yourself!

((Yep, those are our FORTUNES from our cookies above! Fun!))

And don’t you know there is an antique mall around the corner from the restaurant? And Lisa had never been there? Oh boy ---let’s just say that SOME of the errands got pushed off until later so that we could have time to wander!

There was a quilt sighting the moment we walked into the lobby! These 1940’s string quilts are plentiful in this area. I think there were more of these made during that era than any other pattern known. This one was fun because the blocks don’t turn symmetrically! One thing we often see in this area as far as antique quilts go…the sashings don’t go around the outside edge of the quilt…the binding just finishes the edge!

Here’s another one..a fun string star--- look at those giant sashings and red cornerstones, they almost over-power the blocks! Heavy thick cotton batting, made to be WARM more than to be made beautiful---the sashings don’t surround the edges of the quilt, even though there are borders!

I love how the diagonal quilting in each sashing turns whichever way it wants to with no rhyme or reason either -- look closely! Could you be that free-wheeling with marking your diagonals?

Close up of one block. I love how this whole quilt, with all its colors was quilted with black thread!

A Crazy Quilt was draped over a chair ----the fabrics in it were really interesting! I wonder which articles of clothing these patches came from? There was everything from plaids to florals to chambray and even some corduroy. The pieces were topstitched with feather-stitch embroidery, and the quilt was tied.

Lisa and I both ooh’d and ahhhh’d at this Orange Peel. I don’t think I’d ever attempt this pattern. And if I ever did, There is no way I can make a quilt that has only 2 fabrics in it! The quilting was really nicely done by a very experienced quilter with tiny even stitches!

A very puffy 1930’s string star! I don’t think this one has ever been washed…the fabrics are as good as new in it --- especially that bubble gum pink!

Just for scale --- here’s Lisa’s hand showing how BIG these diamonds are! I Love how the print fabrics float against the pink……Solid fabrics are just GREAT for giving your eyes a place to rest, but still holding the intensity of color that a white or a muslin wouldn’t have. Whoever said to never mix solids with prints because the solids would read as flat was just PLAIN WRONG! I love it!

How about a sweet child’s quilt? Scrappy squares of 30s stitched in rows and separated by muslin sashings. Wouldn’t this be a simply easy Leader/Ender quilt?! I might have to do something like this with my overflowing box of 2.5” squares!

This one was hand quilted in fans with blue thread. Look at those cheery squares of red gingham ---gingham ALWAYS looks happy to me! Love it!

We caught this lovely hanging over a cupboard door. And the funny thing is, I think I blogged about this one before in an earlier post --- so the quilt is STILL here! It’s an old top that has been more recently quilted. ((I use that term recently loosely, it’s got a poly batting, the muslin on the back looks new so it hasn’t been washed since it was quilted, but it could have been quilted 30 years ago –who knows?)) The blocks themselves are mid to late 1800’s…

Here’s Miss Lisa peeking out! You can see this is another one of “those” where the sashing doesn’t go around the outside edge of the quilt. Why do we think it always HAS TO to be right?

Do you see what *I* see?! Look at that bit of blue indigo and muslin peeking out on the 2nd shelf! We both gasped and held our breath simultaneously!

It’s definitely a cutter --- it’s so worn it is falling apart. But that means it has something that unused unwashed quilts do not have --- MEMORIES! This quilt was special to someone who slept under it for many many years.

Close up of the blocks ----it’s 6 point stars set with alternate tumbling blocks of muslin….Hmmmmmm….could this be the NEXT english paper piecing project?! Or maybe…a chance to try the ink-lingo I’ve been wanting to try? It’s all one size of 60-degree diamonds. Can you see my mind turning here? The only thing I think I would kill myself over is piecing all that plain muslin…it’s gotta go scrappy, just a bit, if I’m going to do it!

Sometimes we come across beautiful workmanship, with colors that make us shudder! This one one such quilt. I think this block is known as “strawberry” and it was done well, but the colors…egad! LOL!

Some quilts are made quickly, layered heavily with cotton batting and tied by many hands to be warm. I loved the red sashing and the cheddar cornerstones around these giant double 9 patch blocks!

Here’s another! I should have named this post “No sashing on the outside!” These blocks were really fun, all from simple half square triangles! Look at that cheddar/black one on the bottom. POW! In your face! Fan quilting, black thread ---and a giant floral that felt more like a curtain fabric for the backing, turned to the front as binding.

More sweet string blocks, this one used a common blue fabric as the center fabric down each block diagonal. VERY SWEET!! These are the ones I love the best.

The one we HOWLED at?! A double wedding ring. From double knits. With a brushed tricot lining that was about falling apart. I remember my mom making a quilt with a tricot backing and how it itched and caught on rough knees and feet and hands as I was growing up! Some things should never be used in a quilt --- tricot is one of those things! This one did have a lot of work put into it. Bless the lady who had time to work with double knit AND piece a double wedding ring by hand with it! The red back ground --- she gets my RIGHT ON!! for that ---but---this quilt did NOT come home with me!

What DID come home with me? Will have to wait til the next post! I need to take some better photos and this post is out of room! ((Don’t you love suspense?!))

And if you’ve made it this far….I’m feeling panicky! Look at the email I got from my friend Aby:

Dear Bonnie,

Now if there's anything you wanted to do, any mountain you wanted to climb, any quilt you wanted to make before you turn 50, this is the weekend to do it!

Sending you all my best for a wonderful birthday. And, take it from me, 50 is not so bad! We have a lot to share (in the quilting world), and now is the time to share it!

Oh Geeeeze! The pressure’s on! Does this mean I have a good reason to sew all weekend? After all – it’s raining and yucky out there, it’s warm in the basement, I’m nursing a head cold --- and I have 2 days to finish ALL I wanted to do before I turn 50!!