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Friday, March 23, 2012

Out Antiquing!

With the price of gas these days ((And yes, I KNOW it is double what we are paying over in Europe and beyond, but it still smarts a bit here!)) I don’t want to make short little jaunts – I want them all to count as one big loop together to make the best use of my time and money. That meant that Post Office, Bank, Car Dealership, Sew & Vac and Massage were all on the same loop yesterday afternoon.

That also means that instead of running home with 2 hours to burn in between the Car Dealership where I needed them to PLEASE fix it so my new phone connected to the blue tooth in the car so I could talk HANDS FREE ((And they fixed it! Genious!)) and my Massage that wasn’t until 5pm ---I spent some time just browsing some favorite haunts that I hadn’t gotten to in quite a while.

You saw the machine from the Salvation Army store yesterday via iphone-o-gram. But what you didn’t see are the lovely antique quilts I found at a local antique mall! Some finds were sweet, some were funny, all had me running my fingers over the stitches wondering who the makers were, and how/why did they end up in an antique mall in hopes that someone would take them home and love them?

The first pic of course is NOT a quilt, but a machine – poor beat up piece of history, too abused to be of “Much” value, but I turned her hand crank, and she moved just fine. I wonder what was stitched on her? Wedding gowns? Baby clothes? Household items? The every day chore of mending and patching --- and maybe….there were quilt pieces that went under this needle too.

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This sweet green and pink bear paw variation caught my eye….at first glance I couldn’t see that there were bear paw triangles on the green squares…..it looked totally like an asymmetrical block to me…does it to you? But look:

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The pinks have faded…but I can see pink triangles around those green squares!

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And since it is spring, and Easter is on the way ---Let’s put the Easter bonnets ON the ducks!! It looks like someone got into Sunbonnet Sue’s closet and ran off with all her bonnets..LOL! The fabrics were really funny --- this one made it look like she had appliqued an eye:

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Maybe it’s not a duck. Maybe it’s a --- buzzard? :cD

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These just made me giggle ----with those bonnets just perched on top of the heads….but maybe if it was wearing the bonnet like SUE wore hers, you’d never be able to tell it was a bird at all, the whole head would be invisible? :cD

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I turned the corner to catch a glimpse of vibrant color --- drawn to it like moth to flame ---and found a double-knit polyester wonder ---- big triangles set in broken dishes with some checkerboard going on at the bottom end. It was heavy and stretchy, just a top. I remember my mom making pant suits out of this kind of fabric when I was little. That stuff was always kinda itchy --- and HOT! There wasn’t room to lay this one fully out --- cramped quarters and narrow hallways.

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Now this is more to my liking! Very springy cactus baskets 1930’s style! pink backgrounds, blue sashings, yellow cornerstones and baskets – and the basket tops are all scrappy. LOVE the large fan quilting!

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Isn’t this just sweet?! Definitely a good season for Easter Baskets!

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Lots of 1930’s love found yesterday. This top was tied as a comforter --- and used and used and used. Kind of sad to see it so shredded, but on the other hand, it covered those the maker loved while they dreamed. It lived its life as it was intended to.

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Here you can see the ties that held the layers together --- and even see the hand stitching in the lighter areas. It felt like it had a heavy wool blanket inside. It was only held together by random ties – it might have survived better if it had been quilted closer.

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A very funky double wedding ring with big stitch quilting and machine quilting too! Was this a multi-generation project?!

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The arcs were all big stitched in the inside, but the melons and around them were zig zagged!

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A tied wooly kaleidoscope, busy and fun!

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My diggings unearthed a treasure --- a feathered star!

All kinds of bells and whistles were going off on this one ----do you see the half round shapes in the center of each star block? They are all slightly different which gave me the clue that there were indeed different makers for each block. Look:

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Lovely red and cheddar and a sweet print background. Some of the melon shapes were appliqued, some had machine stitching, some reverse appliqued! All different kinds of skill levels.

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The points on this one are pretty precise --- and the round tops of her melons are machine stitched!

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Big chunky rounds…and evidence of a pen and ink signature or initials in the center….

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Close up: The ink…and the larger round half melons, appliqued, not machine stitched ---

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Love the pink plaid in the center! And this one had embroidered initials…

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Oh, I love the colors in this one! See how different the size of those half round thingies are? Don’t you wish you knew more about how this quilt came to be?

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Love this fabric combo too! Not to mention the cheddar/blue sashings! Still different shapes yet when it comes to those melon thingies --

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I love the simple red blue/cream combo…..and how the quilting shows up in this photo. Double diagonals in the border…simple echoing (twice) in the side triangles, and X’s in the corner squares. Can you see the machine top stitching on the melons?

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Sweet color combos! Yellow and pink and burgundy! Taller pointier melons! Only two of the blocks I found had evidence of signatures or initials.

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Lots of cheddar, lots of double pink….browns and blues, but something could have faded out along the way ---I love this in all its wonkiness!

And just before you think that’s all I found ((As if that feathered star didn’t completely blow me away!))

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How about a sweet piece of Americana? Look at these fun churn dashes!

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It had a wide red paisley binding, with curved corners. I flipped it to check the backing fabric --- somewhere around 1890-1910 as far as I can guess --- and my favorite of that time period – quilting in BLACK THREAD! I love black thread quilting!

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Check out this awesome block! It has Masonic Symbols – Compass and the Square. What an interesting novelty!

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I spread it out to get a better look. Do you see the churn dash with the two blue corners and two red ones? FUN! And I love that odd cream bit in the bottom border where they ran out of blue.

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And if you guessed that THIS is the one that came home with me ---- you guessed right! As much as I loved that feathered star – this is the one that called to my heart in all its simplicity!

And now I get to confess that it is still in the car because DH was home when I got home last night and I didn’t want to bring it into the house yet…LOL!

25 comments:

  1. What!?! You, too, Bonnie!?! If YOU'RE not able to bring a new quilt find into the house, then who is!?! LOL

    It's a great looking quilt.....and that feathered star was fabulous, too! To bad it had so much staining on it! :o(

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  2. I would have got the hand crank too!! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Anonymous11:32 AM EDT

    Thanks for the quilt show this morning - just the pick me up I needed. Really loved the feather star. And the ducks made me laugh. Looking at them I'm thinking that those aren't bonnets on their heads but are supposed to be big bows - you know like little girls used to wear when they dressed up. Wish I could sit down for tea with that quiltmaker - she must have been a hoot!

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  4. I purchased a really nice hand-crank sewing machine that is from England. It is in excellent shape - sure would like to know more about the machine and if it has value.
    Thanks for sharing Bonnie....just beautiful!!

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  5. I buy something, bring it in (when he isn't home) put it away and after a month or so I will bring it out. He will eventually say "Is that new?" and I honestly can say "No, I've had that for a while"... I liked the photo quilt show, and I would have bought that feathered star. Great finds...

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  6. i would have brought home the ducks. i find myself feeling sorry for the under dog (duck). they where hysterical, maybe they partied too hard and the bonnets are lampshades. or ready for the KY Derby. thanks for the lovely quilt show, made me smile. so many pinks!!! :>)

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  7. Thanks for the slide show! The ducks are so funny,it looks like little turbans on their heads. The Feathered Star is my favorite, may have to sit down and make a few for a lap quilt. The Churn Dash is the first block I ever made. Made a king size sampler quilt for my mother in the 70's and it's been in the ceder chest since she passed. Guess I'll go pull it out and see how bad or good my hand stitching was. Should give me a laugh for the day.

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  8. Love the quilt! But love it even more that it is in the car until DH isn't home!

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  9. I always love to see the quilts you find on your jaunts. When you bring the new find in and it mingles with the other quilts your DH will be none the wiser.

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  10. Oh, thank you or the virtual tour! Love them all, even the polyester....

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  11. Helloi
    Wonderful finds !!
    can you buy the Hand crank machine I'll send you a check ! How much was it !

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  12. Thanks for the antiquing trip. I didn't use a drop of gas.

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  13. Can I go shopping with you!!!? I would love to find some of those type of treasures! None in my neck of the woods. The feathered star was cool, you can always put that one on your list to make, right? LOL that you hid the new quilt in the car until Dh isn't looking.

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  14. Totally loved the pictures & your commentary on the feathered star & churn dash! There is nothing like that around here. Thank you so much for taking us shopping with you.

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  15. Anonymous4:32 PM EDT

    Oooh. I love the one you came home with! Great choice. If it ever needs a new home, I think I know of one that would be happy to have it.

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  16. Anonymous4:37 PM EDT

    Loved the quilt show, Bonnie. I am thinking ( I have read the "Tools" blog post as well)that you should inform DH that any older quilt you purchase is as important as the tools you purchase. The older quilts are for "research". I am sure he will understand. lol
    And I probably would have brought home the hand crank machine as well....don't see many of them around anymore.
    Faye in Maine

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  17. Loved the fun trip, but I really want the duck quilt! The comments are a hoot!

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  18. Love the detailed quilt journey. What Salvation Army store do you go to? Im always looking for thrift stores in the area. BTW loved the rounded corners on the one you took home. So much easier then square ones!

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  19. Thank you for always sharing the quilty goodness you find in the antique malls. When I go into the antique malls, I never seem to see all the treasures that you do.

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  20. Love the churn dash...that blue would have got to me too! Though I have to admit I'm not sure I could have left behind those ducks...they just made me smile too much!

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  21. Loved the quilts. Just took a feathered star class today, but churn dash wins my vote, too. Got such a chuckle over your story about leaving it in the car. : )

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  22. those ducks are an absolute hoot! don't know what is wrong with me these days that I am so loving the polyester quilts! wouldn't want to touch it, but love that vibrant color.

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  23. Hope he doesn't read your blogs! LOL

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  24. my heart always stops when I see a churn dash. love that block. enjoy your treasure! Janita

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  25. The ducks are so cute! I love the feathered star though. Recently came across that pattern in red and white and have downloaded it for a possible future project.

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